The Sky is a Pathetically Broken Limit
by Arwana13
Summary: Tsuna would just like to say that before their brothers threw themselves in their lives with all the grace of elephants, he and his elements were doing just fine. They didn't need relations to the Vongola to terrify the tar out of their enemies.
1. the kids are fucking awesome

**Naples, Italy**

**Recent Past**

The story goes a little like this:

Giotto Sawada frowned as he aimed another kick at the head of the idiot who called himself his father. He'd often wondered how he'd managed to escape the stupidity this man excluded.

(At the end, he concluded along with Reborn that his mother's genes of obliviousness simply ignored Iemitsu's and he was left a new child to shape and mould. And that Reborn did.)

At the age of sixteen, he was very different from the little boy who had formed a family of hot-headed children and refused to let anyone separate them. Not that many people tried, what with Alaude's handcuffs gingling and Daemon's eyes flashing red every time someone advised _their _Sky to pick less...destructive Guardians. Giotto had simply smiled at the well wishers and told them to fuck off very, very nicely.

(It seemed that possessiveness also ran in the Vongola blood. Far away, seven utterly terrifying children sneezed. They'd come into the story soon.)

"Say that again," he said, kneeling down so that he could see his father's face, handcuff imprint and all. "_Where _do you want to send us?"

Iemitsu still looked dreamily upon the miracle that he and he precious had created. Oh, his son! So strong! So leader-like! So-

An arrow lodged itself next to his face, tidily slicing his cheek.

-utterly terrifying. Honestly, he thought as he looked at the annoying pink ('It's magenta, you bastards!') haired guardian who corrupted his cute son. How dare he interrupt his father-son bonding time!

"Oi, idiot," Giotto spoke, able to follow his father's single-track mind without much effort. He sighed before raising one hand to hit the sperm donor on the head. "Don't just get distracted by your delusions, _baka!_"

"Mou," Iemitsu pouted, completely unaware of how creepy that expression looked on his face, "My cute son has become all old and serious and wrinkly. Reborn, you've turned him into you!"

Killing intent flooded the room. "What did you just say Dame-Iemitsu?" the hitman leaning against the doorway said softly. He had been enjoying the show so far. The Vongola would not permanently harm the CEDEF leader, but blood rights were well acknowledged in the mafia, to the extent where some people were allowed to judge the punishment of lesser criminals provided they were connected by blood. His precious student was well within his rights to kick the shit out of this useless creature.

The people in the room smirked at hearing a fully grown man being called 'Dame' by the world's greatest hitman, while said loser cried about his (non-existent) pride. The Guardians and their boss were once called by the same title, before they proved their mettle to the Arcobaleno. Now they had the honour of being called his 'cute' students.

When Reborn called you 'cute' it was a compliment. When someone like Sawada Iemitsu called you the same, it was an insult to your manliness - **#fact universally acknowledged.**

"No-nothing, Reborn," the loser stuttered.

"Hm. Naturally. To say something you must first have the brains required to remember a language, _hai Dame-Iemitsu?"_

_"Hai, Reborn-sama. _Wait, what? Reborn, don't insult meeeeeeee."

_Twitch. "Stop whining, Dame-Iemitsu, and answer your son's question. Now."_

"Oh. What did you ask again?"

Hitting his head at the familiar frustrating byplay, Giotto repeated his question. "Where. are. you. planning. on. sending. us. and. why." he enunciated carefully, as if speaking to a small child.

"Ohhh, that! Well, Gio-chan your Maman is asking for you. She can't come here that often, you see, so the Ninth and I think that it's only fair that you go to her!"

"...so let me get this straight, you block any access your son had to his hometown, refuse to let him communicate with his mother when she's there, refuse to let him communicate with his brother _**period**_and then decide to send him home because of _budget problems_?" Alaude asked dryly.

"...if you put it like that, anything sounds stupid."

"You always sound stupid, Dame-Iemitsu. Look, you've driven your son to brain damage. Maman would be disappointed."

"Oi, Giotto, stop hitting yourself."

"No. I'm going into a coma. Avenge me."

"Hai, hai, boss."

Staring down the crazed eyes of his son's (perverted! He had proof!) Mist, Sawada Iemitsu gulped.

Reborn watched happily from the doorway, having somehow gotten popcorn, previous annoyances forgotten. The CEDEF head had been one of the loudest protestors to Giotto's Guardians. To say that they did not like him much, would be like saying that the Sky was a little wide.

Vongola Skies are beloved above everything. To insinuate that they were not protected was to sign your death certificate - **#fact universally acknowledged.**

(Far away, a certain brunet sneezed _again _and was quickly forced to go to the nurse's office, wherein he was molested, only for one of his Guardians to show up (no doubt a result of those creepy 'Boss Detector' senses they'd all developed) and _bite the molester to death. _He was then declared too precious for this world and sent home to rest with the words 'We can't trust anyone with you, Tsunayoshi.' It was as sweet as it was disturbing. These people would come into the story right about-)

Now.

**Far Away (a.k.a. Namimori)**

**Past**

The story went something like this. In the aftermath of one of the Young Lion's visits, his family was taken from his house. The people who did this of course, had no idea what they were getting into, just that their target was rich and wealthy and wasn't home that much. One of the goons followed him to the airport while the other took the chance to observe and break down the defences shielding the CEDEF leader's wife and his 5 year old son from the world.

The rest, to say, was history. When the ransom request was patched through the CEDEF headquarters, complete with Nana's sobs and Tsunayoshi's whimpers, subordinates spoke for months of how furious their boss was. Calls were made to locate the perpetrators and then, with one single video chat with the Varia's leader, 13 years old and scary as fuck, their fate was sealed. Having been in Kyoto, the Varia made the journey to Osaka in record speed.

The entire rescue attempt was full of energy and fast paced. It was also completely wasted, as when the Varia arrived in the city's underground, they only found the base in flames and a 6 year old _scary as fuck _child, who had Nana and Tsunayoshi deposited right next to him. Upon being patched through the CEDEF headquarters, he was promptly recognized as the brother of the future Decimo's cloud Guardian by the heir, who had plastered himself to his father's side when the news came. No one quite had the heart to remove little 7 year old Giotto from the room which had become the centre of information.

Watching them all with judging eyes, the little boy's face twisted in a surprisingly bloodthirsty smirk and he announced that anyone abducting Namimori's citizens would be _bitten to death_. While others in the vicinity shuddered, the CEDEF head quickly proclaimed that it wasn't enough. In an amazing 72 hour time period, the town was cut off from the underworld completely including the men who were giving reports regarding the Vongola tenth gen's siblings. The Guardians would have protested this, but the image of little defenceless Tsunayoshi, with his wrists bleeding and face bruised, was still present in their heads.

While all of this was happening, Tsuna's bedroom was broken into _again, dear god his father's defences were pathetic. _Although, it wasn't fair to pit the defences of the strongest mafia family in the world again Hibari Kyoya. They never stood a chance.

Gently touching the bruised cheek of the sleeping boy, Kyoya frowned. The defences around the house were too weak, he noted, and vowed to better them tomorrow.

The figure on the bed hummed lightly before cracking his eyes open. He yawned. "Kyo-kyoya-nii, you're here!"

Chuckling at the sudden tone change that the little boy showed, Kyoya uncharacteristically climbed on the bed and pulled the boy in a hug. "Are you well now, Tsunayoshi? You still need to sleep more."

"I'm o-kay, Kyoya-nii!" the brunet exclaimed. "Although, now that you mentioned it, I could sleep some more," he yawned again.

"Kufufufu..." laughter emanated from one corner of the small room, "You are amazingly adorable, Tsunayoshi. " Mist converged in the corner, only to dissipate and reveal the broken and battered form of Rokudo Mukuro, *Certified Disappointment to the Vongola and one of the most infamous figures in the underworld presently. He had hailed his Sky's pleas 4 months ago, when he made a run for it from the Vendice and hid in Namimori, fed and nurtured by the Sky and his elements. Kyoya called him a freeloader, but no one quite had the heart to turn away the scarred criminal and the _bambino _ he had brought with him, who he had found abandoned on _Italia's _streets when he had made a run for it.

Tsunayoshi's gleeful face when he looked at the child had told him that he had made the right choice.

_('He'll be our lighting one day,' the child told his Family. 'But until then, we'll do what we can to absorb the damage inflicted on him, okay?'_

_No one ever questioned how Tsunayoshi knew some things. The brunet's orders and suggestions may seem strange, but they all knew that in the end, they were for the best. It was with this in mind that Mukuro allowed himself to be looked after by the strangely feline Cloud^, grinning even as his wounds were wrapped, because there was something about listening to Tsuna take charge that made you feel invincible (__**if you were on his side, that is.)**_

_Rokudo Mukuro fell asleep, feeling utterly safe, to the sound of his Sky saying, __**'I don't care if they're related to the future Decimo's lightning Guardian, Byakuran, you don't just **__**abandon**__** a child in a town as terrifying as Messina*. I want the Bovinos to **__**pay.**__**'**__ )_

"Mukuro-nii," the brunet spoke, as he jumped from bed and rushed to his Mist's side. "What happened?!"

The Italian smiled gently at the panicking child. "I have someone I want to introduce to you, Tsunayoshi. The mission you sent me on revealed more than one gem. Fran, could you please come out?"

Even as the space next to him began to distort and collapse, Mukuro's eyes were firmly on his Sky. He sighed dramatically. "Tsunayoshi-kun...you knew there was someone all along, didn't you?"

"Mm...hai!" the little boy exclaimed, shaking his head enthusiastically. "I asked Irie-kun to clean out one of his storage rooms yesterday, so you can stay with him!" he addressed the bewildered looking boy.

Mukuro felt his eye twitch. "Ahh...to know about this since yesterday...Tsunayoshi, my darling, you are absolutely terrifying sometimes, you know that?"

"Eh?"

"It probably wasn't that hard to figure out, herbivore. Every time you go out, you end up gathering some other herbivores to herd with."

Twitch. Twitch. "Why you..."

"Mukuro-nii! Kyoya-nii! If you fight here, you'll wake Mama up!"

"Senpai is such a weirdo. Geez."

(It was true though. Mukuro gathered broken children to his side faster than Tsuna converted would-be assassins. Still, when Ryohei called him _okaasan ananas _years later, he happily beat the shit out of him. Hibari said that he was in denial. Mukuro replied that Hibari had no room to talk given how he gathered injured animals in need of TLC near him faster than a magnet attracted nails. Before leaving them both pinned to the ceiling of the basketball court, Tsuna called them idiots and told them that they would only get their meals when they made up.

The legends of the 'Mother Pineapple' and the 'Nurturing Disciplinarian' would ring in the mafia for years. Everyone would agree that the story of the 'Tuna-hen' was way scarier.

Hearing this in the afterlife, Tsuna then proceeded to crush his rain for the degrading nickname before going out on a hunt for the one who leaked it. He wasn't able to corner his Guardians for days and immediately froze them when he did.)

That day, Iemitsu Sawada shut out his family for their own good. Years later, the mafia would praise him for doing so, as the idea of 'Tsunayoshi Sawada and the Tenth Generation Rejects'/ growing up with all the resources of the Vongola was fucking terrifying.

* * *

**Naples, Italy**

**Present**

Giotto sighed. "What information can you give me about my brother, Reborn?"

Rebron made a noise of discontentment. "I barely have _anything _on him, Giotto. Or indeed, any of your brothers." he added, looking at the Guardians.

"So you're saying that my brother is there?!" G demanded. The sudden vanishing of his younger brother had a deep effect on him, partly because he knew that no matter what anyone said, he definitely had a hand in it. Sure, Bianchi had fucked up by poisoning him. Shamal had been an insensitive dick who gave him explosives to play with and then, out of some twisted want to protect the innocence of his godson, refused to teach him more, leaving a, _startlingly brilliant if the tutors were to be believed, _child to raise himself out of the guilt of nearly ruining Hayato's childhood.

Even his father was at fault. If he had done his job and _raised him _instead of wallowing in grief, maybe he would've wanted to stay with the family when he realized the truth about his mother. Hell, it would've even worked if he just asserted his presence and shut the staff from gossiping near Hayato. Then he would not have realized it in the first place!

And, if G had listened to him- had believed him when he said that Bianchi had nearly killed him, had taught him to be more careful around bombs, had comforted him when his new-found mother died, then maybe, _just maybe,_ Hayato would've turned to him.

Instead, when he was seen again, he was the Hurricane Bomb, someone who G couldn't recognize, Shamal couldn't face and Bianchi couldn't look at without sending to the hospital. News of the Hurricane Bomb ravaged southern mainland Italy for months. Then, just before G was going to confront his wayward sibling again, he vanished. He appeared again, weeks later, in China. Soon after that- Laos. Sightings were rare and seemingly random. The fact that he'd last been seen in Italy with Rokudo Mukuro, Daemon's little brother and _dangerous escaped convict_, heavily injured, did nothing to comfort his family.

"We can't be sure," Reborn replied. "But Japan _does _have the highest number of sightings of the Hurricane Bomb, so there's a chance."

G clenched his fist. A chance was much more than what he had had in _years._

Daemon leaned forward. "And Mukuro?" he questioned, frowning.

Reborn sighed before shaking his head. "No definite information. It would make sense if he was in Namimori, though, what with it being declared Sanctuary."

It was sound logic. The idea of Sanctuary was sacrosanct in their world. Even the strongest needed a break, the reason appealed, and the weakest needed to rest. Sanctuaries could be entered with the permission of their owners and, once in, the person was practically untouchable. It was rumoured that Vongola Secendo himself had taken to a Sanctuary when he passed the mantle on.

Daemon scowled. Vendice had recognized his blood right and had given him permission to deal with Mukuro before handing him over to them. That little shit had much to answer for- traumatizing Lanchia, apparently kidnapping G's little brother and _slaughtering 2 fucking famgilias in a week, _being some of the charges against him.

"We'll find him, Daemon," Lampo cut in. "It's safe to say that we've all been shitty brothers, but we can fix it now."

He had his own demons to face. It was only when he contacted his family after _months _ that anyone realized that Lambo had been kidnapped. The Bovino boss, Lampo's uncle and head scientist, had paled drastically when he recalled the note of ransom that was buried beneath piles of paperwork. The first and last results of the mass search which took place only came when the two women who were supposed to be Lambo's caretakers and instead turned out to be his kidnappers were found hanging upside-down, buck naked, from some traffic lights in Palermo.

Reborn eyed the brooding teenagers with some caution. When he had first been introduced to them, these three had presented him with the greatest challenge. The sheer amount of hatred that they held towards adults for failing their little brothers had posed a serious obstacle in getting them to trust him. After nearly 2 years tutoring them, he happened upon them trying to make out a pattern in Hayato's movements. When they awoke the next day, having fallen asleep when discussing, they found a report of who saw the silveret, where they saw him and when the sighting happened. Attached to the map that they'd using to track him was a note in Reborn's writing- **"I am not your enemy."**

Even now, they had problems adjusting to people older than them helping just for the heck of it.

"All of you," Giotto spoke, "Just...calm down, okay? What Lampo said was true, but till now we've never had the opportunity to _try._ Now that we do, let's not waste it."

He surveyed the room before gently suggesting that they sleep and wake early in the morning to discuss the covers for their childhoods that they would require when they entered Namimori High.

"Sleep well, everyone!"

(G really shouldn't have worried that much. Mukuro had indeed encountered the stubborn Storm all those years back, and he _had _been injured, but the injuries had not come from Mukuro himself. Upon recognizing someone that his Sky wanted, Mukuro had picked Hayato up by the scruff, scolded him for ignoring Tsunayoshi's calls and then dumped him in front of his Sky with all the eagerness of a cat bringing back a dead mouse for his master.

(Hibari Kyoya _always _has animal analogies for a situation or person - **#fact universally acknowledged.**)

Tsuna had promptly taken over, mothering his weary storm and fanning the winds even more. He never tried to strap him down- except for when he was injured, of course- and soon after Hayato had the opportunity to participate in a Yakuza takeover. Then Tsuna found _himself _a mother hen, when his Storm knocked him on his ass when he tried to get up after severe flame exhaustion and then immediately apologized for speaking so rudely to 'Tsuna-sama.'

Hayato was fine. Really.)

* * *

**Far Away (a.k.a. Namimori)**

**Present**

When Tsunayoshi Sawada woke up, the first thing he saw was the body of Yuki floating in the fish tank in his room. As he flushed away the tuna which Mukuro, with all his fucked up sense of humour had gifted him on his thirteenth birthday just a few days ago, he concluded that he should go back to sleep.

The sweet sound of Daft Punk distracted him from his journey back to the bed and he diverted to go pick up the phone. "What is it, Takeshi?"

"Tu-na, Mukuro's acting weird again!"

Sigh. It wasn't a good idea to not go to school, then. The first time he had ignored the sentence had been...memorable.

"I'll be there soon."

"Hai, hai!"

000000000000

"Good Morning, president!"

"Hmm...good morning, everyone," Tsuna replied back, not even bothering to lift his eyes from the paper in front of him. He felt the back of his jacket get grabbed as he was lifted, out of the way of a basketball, he noted as he quickly lifted his eyes from the paper, and was placed safely back on the ground. Meeting the eyes of the boy who had saved him, he let a small smile come on his face. "Thank you, Makoto-kun."

The basketball captain blushed and murmured a quick 'welcome' before walking away from Tsuna quickly. The brunet's eyes watched him go, a puzzled frown on his face. He would never understand why people refused to meet his eyes when he smiled at them, or at least to smile back. It was rude, and mean.

"Tsunayoshi."

"Oh, hi Kyoya-senpai," he chirped as he met the exasperated grey eyes of his Cloud. "How are you this _fine _morning?"

"Are you...well, Tsunayoshi?"

"Of course I am."

"...why are you holding a banned item in your left hand?"

"Oh, the champagne? It was just lying in the fridge. It looked lonely, so I thought that I should bring it to school today."

The crowd behind him immediately began whispers of 'Sawada-sama's grace and beauty', 'his kindness', the 'empathy he showed to even inanimate objects.' As the whispers started to increase to shouts, Kyoya lifted his eyes to the sky in a 'Kindly give me fucks to give' expression (TM) and sighed. "I'll allow it this once, Tsunayoshi. I do _not _care about your alcohol tolerance, if I hear rumours of you or anyone drinking that while in school, I'll bite them to death."

"Hai, senpai."

00000000000

(Incidences happened throughout the day:

-"Tsuna-sama, is that-"

"Italian champagne? Why yes it is, Hayato-kun. My useless father sent it for my mother a week ago. I thought I should put it to good use."

"...and you're going to put it to good use here?"

"Yes. Yes I am, Takeshi."

"...okay, then!"

-"Don't tell me you've become an alcoholic now, Sawada."

"I won't tell you that, Kurokawa-san."

"...Sawada I was just joking. The paperwork isn't that much surely-'

"**Don't talk to me about the paperwork, Kurokawa.**"

-"Sawada-san?"

"Hai, Hanimura-sensei?"

"Is Hibari-san aware that you have an alcoholic substance in school?"

"He is."

"Alright then. Continue on doing what you're doing.")

00000000000000

"Oya, oya, which of you heathens drove my Tsunayoshi to drink?" Mukuro drawled out when the brunet appeared on the roof, one hand unwrapping the bento while the other one shook the champagne bottle.

"_Your Tsunayoshi?"_ Hayato growled out. "Don't just talk like Tsuna-sama is your toy, bastard!"

"Sigh. I can't believe that the puppy I brought in would turn into this rabid dog."

"I'll show you rabid, you-"

"Mukuro, do have something you want to tell us?" Tsuna interrupted, locking his eyes on the convict's tense frame.

Mukuro sighed again, relaxing minutely. "Still utterly terrifying."

"So I hear," Tsuna replied back. "Eat." he said, nudging Mukuro's unwrapped bento towards his Mist. "You're still too thin for my liking."

"It's all the stress," Mukuro nodded sagely.

"You should have a massage then, senpai," Takeshi grinned back.

Mukuro leered. "Only if my dear skylark offers."

As one, their heads turned to where Kyoya was resting on top of the water tank. Slowly, deliberately, a pale hand came up and calmly raised its middle finger before slowly sinking down again.

Bursting into laughter, they all began to dig into their food with gusto. Tsuna caught Mukuro's eyes again. "So," he began casually, "Should we be expecting something to turn up the stress levels anytime soon?"

Everyone was still eating but the atmosphere lost some of its spark. Mukuro closed his eyes before muttering, "You can't just give me openings to back out of a conversation and then take them away, Tsunayoshi."

"Watch me," Tsuna shot back. He stopped eating, grabbing the champagne bottle and starting to juggle it, letting it twirl in the air before catching it again, "Mukuro, what's going to happen?"

"The Vongola is opening the town back up."

"What does that mean?" Hayato demanded. "Do we lose our status as Sanctuary?"

Mukuro shook his head. "Not as far as I can tell," he said. "All that is confirmed at the moment is that the Vongola and its allies can _also_ seek Sanctuary."

"Goddamit," Tsuna muttered. "Every B grade criminal will be heading here. What is the no-good family of mine thinking?"

"Ano, Tsuna-kun," Shoichi began, "I don't think that will happen."

"And why is that?" Takeshi questioned, his tone and posture at the opposite ends of the spectrum.

"If the information channels in England are to be believed," Shoichi licked his lips nervously, "Then the Vongola Tenth Generation is coming here."

There was a moment of silence before-

"Senpai, you're fucked."

"Yeah, Mukuro, you're pretty screwed over."

"Actually he isn't," Hayato cut in before the illusionist felt the need to take his apprentice and the baseball captain out. "We placed your case before the Council 3 weeks ago, Mukuro," he replied to the Mist guardian's questioning looks, "While they deliberate over the case no one, not even the Vendice, will attack you. To do that will be like saying that they're more fit to deliver justice than the Council."

"Not to mention, this is still Sanctuary. The Vongola has a special reason to uphold its protection, considering that they're why the idea of Sanctuary first came into place," Tsuna added, twirling the bottle at a faster speed than before.

Before Mukuro could reply to their going behind his back (something which he was sure that fucking skylark took pleasure in, given that his aunt was one of the _heads _of the Council) he was interrupted as a "Die, Vongola!" rang out the roof.

"I knew I shouldn't have gotten out of bed today," Tsuna commented, as he smoothly uncorked the bottle when it finished its last twirl and aimed it. The assassin screamed as quality champagne sprayed into his overly large eyes, curling up on the ground and rubbing them with his tie to get it out. Feeling unusually bitter, Tsuna then tossed the rest of the bottle on him too, watching with satisfaction as it broke on his head and cause him to scream more.

"Herbivore," Kyoya spoke, awake from his (cat) nap and pissed, "For being in possession of an unauthorized weapon, attempting to attack students of Nami-chu and for attempting to attack the council president _you will be bitten to death. Thrice."_

"I'm pretty sure that he drank some of the alcohol that sprayed on him Kyoya. You said in the morning that you would bite the person that drank it in school to death."

"Four times, then."

"Also, that champagne belonged to my mother. She most certainly did not allow him to drink it."

"Thievery is not tolerated in Namimori. Thieves here are bitten to death. State your last will quickly, herbivore, your punishment is unlikely to end soon."

Watching as the irritable Cloud attacked the intruder with frightening ferocity, goaded by the Sky who pulled more reasons to bite him out of thin air ('He snuck in wearing a school uniform, senpai.' 'It is forbidden for any but Nami-chu students to wear the uniform.' 'He also managed to get it dirty.' 'Dirtying the uniform is forbidden by school regulations.') Mukuro smiled.

"Utterly terrifying," he spoke, even as he reached for the popcorn that the Rain guardian had somehow managed to procure.

Mukuro was okay. Really.

He had full faith that his family would protect him from the coming storm.

("You know, when Tsuna said that he would put the bottle to good use, even _I _didn't think of this."

Mukuro laughed.)

* * *

^telling the Cloud guardian of this fact is perhaps what started the most complicated hate-love relationship seen in the mafia world. After this, Kyoya deliberately did cat-like acts in front of Mukuro, as if to save him to say something. Mukuro, of course, always did. Thankfully, Tsuna learnt how to deal with them both (**coughSprayingthemwithwaterworkedcough)**

*****contrary to popular belief, Naples wasn't the epicentre of some mafia earthquake. The entirety of South Italy had been affected by the underworld, in differing degrees.

/surprisingly, or perhaps not so surprisingly, it was Takeshi who coined this term. He always wanted to be in a band, he said when later asked.

**I have no idea where this came out of. Really. Zero idea.**

**This may seem like too many details, but fear not. There are more details to come!**

**Read and review!**

**Until next time, **

**Arwana13**


	2. skull is done with this shit

_Skull took in a shallow breath and aimed. There were two buildings between him and his target. That meant that the bullet would have to go through 3 windows, all of them relatively thick, which would slow it down a little. As such, it was absolutely __**necessary **__that it did not interact with anything else along its way._

_The objects weren't that important. They could be manoeuvred around, calculated, dodged. No, the real problem for snipers were __**people.**_

_(The real problem, he concluded after meeting Tsunayoshi, was always people, no matter how much Hayato said that Tsuna was God._

_(It would be well to notice that Skull actually did entertain that theory for quite some time.))_

_Nevermind, he wasn't one of the Strongest Seven because of his ability to annoy people to death, no matter what people said. He would never be as good as Reborn (no one would ever, the freak could probably shoot a pinball from a hundred metres while blindfolded) but he was __**good.**__ People were objects too, in the mindset of a sniper, annoying objects, but objects nevertheless. They could also be calculated._

_Some people believe that Clouds are all the same - terrifying, aloof and __**batshit insane**_**.**

_Oh sorry, did I say some people? I meant __**every single fucking Mafioso. **_

_So see, it was easy to understand why Skull was not taken so seriously by people in the Mafia. He only had the last requirement down, in their eyes. Easily scared and clingy people are not Clouds. And Skull honestly agreed with that. He maintained that something had gone wrong when he and Viper were born and that somehow fucked up their flames.(Something which his darling 'Family' tried to correct (__***cough*ExperimentOn*cough***__) when they noticed how strong and stable both the normally volatile flames in him were when he was a child.) He was much more adept at fucking with his opponent's brains than that emotionless little shit. Had his mist flames been primary ones...oh he could've fucked over the __**world.**_

_(People's faces sometimes when they came after him as a baby only to shriek when Ookado lazily waved behind him like a tentacle-rape cosplayer were __**hilarious**__and nothing can make him stop doing that. No, Tsuna, not even you.)_

_But I digress. The fact is that Skull was unfortunately a Cloud. So really...did that bastard Boss actually expect that he'd follow his orders? 'The age doesn't matter, you only need to know that this child has caused us many problems, his only known trigger is another child, so just go and capture him?' Really? What kind of shitty orders were that?_

_Fuck that noise. Even among the Mafia there was a Code. Children were sacred and precious and __**protected.**__ Sure, Skull might not have had the chance to be a child himself, but if the reports were to be believed, then this target was 6 years old. He imagined himself at six, scared and helpless, tied up in a warehouse as bait for some violent brat with a fetish for animals and saw __**red.**_

_Trying to chain a cloud was a Bad Idea (TM) and trying to do that to one who had all the mind-fuckery of a the Mist was an even worse idea.*_

_Breathe in. Out. In. Out. Breathe in...adjust the rifle against your shoulder. Feet apart, calculate for the recoil (you're not as big as you used to be). Put your finger on the trigger and hold your breath._

_**Exhale.**_

_...and pull the trigger._

_He'd gone back to the house that 'I Prescelti Sette' had once lived in and taken a Verde modified silencer from Reborn's room 3 months ago. He was never more glad for that than he was when he watched his bullet rip through his bastard ex-boss' skull._

* * *

Reborn frowned as the plane landed in Namimori. So far, so good, the Guardians had only gotten into a couple of (manageable) fights and no mid-air assassins with hang-gliders had shown up mid-flight to throw poisonous asps at Giotto (it wouldn't have been the first time.) So then, why did he feel so...unsettled? It wasn't exactly a foreboding feeling, he just felt that unexpected things were going to be heading this way. Or were **they** heading towards them?

"Reborn, are you okay?" a concerned voice drew him out of his thoughts. He let a smirk appear on his face as he turned towards his student.

"Stop worrying about me, Giotto," he drawled, "and worry more about the fact that you're about to go into uncharted territory." He really should worry more about that. While the chance of Mafioso being there are low, considering that the Vongola had basically labelled the territory **FUCK OFF **one could never be too cautious. Sanctuary, after all, applied to all underworlds. For all they knew, the Yakuza might have converted the town into fucking Babylon.

When in a situation without major information, you have to plan for all contingencies. All possibilities need to be prepared for, all cures need to be bought, all preventions need to be thought of. In short, when in doubt, **nothing could be left to chance.**

He didn't mention this to Giotto. The child would undoubtedly start to take over the entire effort himself. Reborn still had many lessons to teach his dear student, one of them being the fact that he **did not need to do everything by himself. **He was learning, of course, but was nowhere near finished with _that _particular lesson.

What was it about Vongola blood that made people such fucking martyrs?

(Not-so-far-away, a brunet sneezed once _**again**_, causing the people near him to back off as his friends started screaming about how "You just got well Tsuna, you _**can't **_get sick _again,_ Omnivore, I _**refuse **_to let you get sick Vongola, **I WON'T LET YOU DIE, TSUNA-SAMA!"**Had the town's terror, personified in the form of an animal lover, not been with them, the group would've gotten thrown out of the supermarket for ruckus. As it was, his presence simply allowed them to raid the medical pantry to find a cure for the fluffy-haired teen.)

(We should feel sorry for Reborn, really. If he thought that the 'Don't be a fucking idiotic martyr' lesson was hard to teach to his student, groomed since his birth to grow into Vongola's ideal, how much more would the difficulty level be in Vongola blood that had been allowed to run rampant since childhood? Let's just say, Mount Everest would be easier to scale.)

Namimori's citizens had long since learned the fine art of selective blindness/ and so, when the Vongola plane landed down, most locals didn't spare more than a cursory glance to teens who came down from it- even the one who was waving a bow in the face of his smiling companion who wore an eighteenth century lens.

"This is strange," Giotto muttered as they went to pick up his baggage. "You'd think that security here would be more concerned about the group of murderous, suspicious, gun-carrying teenagers that stepped down a plane."

Reborn agreed. "Keep an eye out, all of you," he curtly told his charges. "This type of gung-ho attitude cannot mean anything good for us."

(The citizens of Namimori were pretty awesome by themselves. Constant contact the TGR_ members had simply enhanced that amazing-ness. Hayato Gokudera said it best-

**Boss is amazing to the extent where his awesomeness is infectious- #fact universally acknowledged.**)

"Reborn," G whispered a few moments later. "I think there's someone watching us."

All of the teen tensed. "Where?" Reborn asked in a low voice.

"The waiting area towards the left." Giotto replied, his lips barely moving. His shoulders dropped a little as Reborn gave an acknowledging nod, confident that his tutor would take care of the problem.

Well. Maybe he wasn't _that _much of an idiotic martyr then.

As the Arcobaleno looked to where the threat was meant to be, he felt his lips twitch. "Alaude," he began in measured tones "Your brother has interesting reading choices."

"What?" the blonde spoke. His eyes followed his mentor's gaze until they came upon someone who looked like...

"Amazing," Daemon breathed. "He's like your Japanese evil twin."

"Why the fuck is he evil?" G scoffed, before quickly raising his eyebrows as he noticed the oppressing aura that kept everyone a metre's distance away from the younger Hibari's spot. "Never mind."

Hibari Kyoya had grown from the bloodthirsty little child that had once been present on the CEDEF headquarters screen, in that his blood thirst was no longer visibly present. Instead, with his black jacket cloaked over slender shoulders, the man behind him so _obviously _keeping guard and a copy of Gomorrah^ clutched in his hands, he looked very much like...

"He's going to grow up to arrest us, isn't he?" Giotto breathed. As if he'd heard them, Kyoya's lips twitched, smoothing out in a smirk. Alaude looked suspiciously proud. G sighed.

"What the fuck is my life?" he asked the person closest to him. The woman, a Namimori citizen, looked at the gang of teenagers who looked amazingly alike to Namimori's protectors and raised an eyebrow.

_I don't even know who you are, _she thought, _but I suspect that the answer is- __**fucking hilarious.**_

* * *

When he was a child, Hibari Kyoya had half of the police force of Namimori around his thumb and the other half under his boot heel. That had been one of the main facts floating around Alaude's mind when he watched his little brother for what was possibly the last time on the CEDEF headquarter screens. Namimori (and Kyoya) would be fine.

Sure, he thought now, Namimori seemed to be fine. Kyoya seemed more than fine- in the presence of people with ridiculous hairstyles who looked scared shitless and determined around him simultaneously, he _flourished._ Could the same be said for their relationship?

...not right now, he concluded, watching as Kyoya's eyes flickered up to sweep the newcomers before landing back down on his mobile, fingers flying of his keypad as he texted as a stupidly fast speed. He hadn't a word to them so far. Alaude frowned, he would need to work hard if he wanted even a semblance of the calm companionship they used to share as children back.

Reborn, meanwhile frowned for a completely different reason, as he took in the posture of the younger Cloud. Kyoya was curled up in a strangely feline way, his back resting near the window. His body blocked the window from reflecting the mobile. Is he actively trying to stop us from finding out who his contact is? Reborn wondered. Even if it wasn't conscious, he had a feeling that gathering any information in this town would be...troublesome.

"We'll need to get to the school at least an hour before the bell rings," Giotto murmured, blue eyes sharp and focused on the file of the school in his hands. "That way, we can get all the paperwork out of the way."

"Dammit," Lampo groaned. "As if jet lag won't already be a bitch." All the Guardians winced in sympathy as the normally annoying Lighting put up that point. Reborn tilted his fedora to hide his frown. While he was well known for his Spartan waking methods, he knew well that without proper sleep, his students would not be able to give their 100%.

A rustle caught the hitman's attention as the younger Hibari lifted his eyes from the phone to take in the tired expressions of the Guardians. He let out an irritated tch before aggressively setting the device down and opening the bag on the car seat next to him. Lifting papers from the bag, he swiftly threw them at Giotto.

"Ah, Hiabri-san," Giotto frowned, clutching the papers. "What are these?"

"Paperwork, herbivore." Kyoya deadpanned. "I don't expect to see you at school tomorrow."

"Why is that?" Reborn question.

The younger Cloud grinned toothily before unleashing his blood thirst fully. "Because, herbivore," he replied, hunger evident in his voice, "If they fall asleep, I _will bite them to death. _And because they won't be able to put on a good resistance due to exhaustion, I'll _double _the biting._"_ His eyes gleamed. The Guardians shivered.

Reborn stroked his imaginary beard. "Point taken," he concluded. Pinning the Guardians with a sharp eye he smirked, "Don't think for a second that getting adequate rest will distract you from getting acquainted with the territory. Watch out the windows carefully, children, you're getting grilled on this when we get home."

Hibari scoffed as the Guardians hastily gazed out the window- simply looking at Namimori would not _acquaint _anyone with it, because there were layers upon layers in this city. That these strangers thought they would be able to navigate it in such a short time was hilarious.

A _ting! _distracted him and he looked down and scowled again. That stupid pineapple had taken his rook again. Quickly moving his knight to E4, he smirked as he took out his Mist's queen, knowing from the corner of his eye that Reborn would be memorizing every expression on his face. That was alright. Kyoya had layers upon layers too.

Let these _herbivores _try to figure him out.

(**For the better mentality of the world, Skull of the Arcobaleno was no longer allowed near young Mists or Clouds- #fact universally acknowledged.**)

* * *

Takeshi hummed as he tossed the onions in the pan to sauté them properly. He could honestly say that cooking was an activity which he really enjoyed- the repetitive motions of cutting, mixing and grinding were comforting to say the least. They reminded him of the _katas _which he practiced with Hayato or Kyoya every morning (Tsuna normally being too exhausted to get up early.) However he also enjoyed cooking because-

"Here you two, taste this and tell me what's missing."

"Kufufu, perhaps a little cinnamon, Tsunayoshi?"

"Haha, Tsuna, and also some ginger!"

"I _knew _I made it too bland!"

-it was one of the few times he could spend with his Sky and Mist that was not chaotic.

"Watch out, Tsuna!"

"Wow, you're really lucky, had that knife landed an inch to the left..."

Well, _mostly_ not chaotic. That was okay, with a Sky like theirs, they knew better than to expect complete peace. That would just be boring.

(**Tsunayoshi Sawada attracted trouble faster than a colourful flower attracted bees- #fact universally acknowledged.**)

After a particularly terrifying incident in which Hayato had gotten himself trapped under a fucking landslide after a train accident, Tsuna had, for the lack of a better expression, _flipped his shit. _The entire situation ended in Tsuna forcing all his Guardians to carry at least 5 protein bars on their person and teaching them how to cook. They all protested at first before silently looking at the tiny haggard child before them, thin due to puking out whatever he ate as a result of the stress, sleepless due to the visions which haunted him and relenting.

(Two months later, Takeshi created his first ever bento and gifted it to Tsuna, who ate it happily despite his intuition ringing (it was his Rain, he'd probably just put too much chilly) and then slumped over when potent Rain flames settled in his belly. Before Takeshi could jump over to catch him, two arms, slender but firmed, lightly looped around the Sky's waist. Takeshi looked into the approving grey eyes of his Cloud and smiled.)

It was nearly impossible to get Ryohei to settle down enough to actually teach him anything in the kitchen, given that the Guardian promptly ate whatever smelt even remotely appetizing (even if it was sizzling in the pan) and was a bottomless fucking pit. After he ate his half cooked food right off the flame and later exclaimed how EXTREME! it tasted, Tsuna groaned and settled for making soup.

Hayato and Lambo were still occasional disasters in the kitchen. Lambo being young could be forgiven, and Hayato never really grew out of his '**mad scientist**' phase. Tsuna found it cute, naturally, right up to where Hayato started experimenting with dynamite in the kitchen .

Kyoya never bothered to learn past the basics, practical to his very core. He maintained that simple bread and pancakes would be of more help if he was _truly_ in a dire situation. "Apart from that, herbivores, I'll keep faith in you feeding me." That statement was probably what released him from Tsuna's mothering clutches. For all that Mukuro manipulates, Kyoya could, at times, run circles around him. Especially when it concerned their Sky.

Mukuro, surprisingly, picked up the most from these lessons. The hit-and-run relationship he had with the Vendice had left him with an amazing appreciation for food, and for those who cook it. Despite never being locked up for more than three months before breaking out and coming back to Sanctuary, the frequent trips in and out of the water prison, along with the less-than-pleasing healthcare at the Estraneo Family base where he grew as a child, wrecked hell (no pun intended) upon his immune system. Nana Sawada had been surprised when her son started getting up early to make food for someone in the morning and had then pouted when he refused to tell her who he made it for.

And this is how they ended up- the Rain, the Mist and the Sky, the improbable cooking trio. The Fool, the Criminal and the Saint, all making a 'Welcome Home' meal for the newest generation of vigilantes who toed the line of legality. Their life was fucking hilarious.

As Mukuro yawned fucking _again _the brunet Sky frowned. "Go to the house and sleep," he told the Mist. "And until the Council makes a decision, I don't want to see you in front of the Vongola." His eyes flashed amber for a split second, "Knowing them, they'd probably rewrite the laws of Sanctuary to exempt blood rights, and then we'd all be fucked."

Letting a fond laugh out, the illusionist moved forward to kiss his Sky on the head and exchange a brief hug with his Rain, who quickly thrust a package of Rain flame infused food onto him, with a gentle but firm, 'In Case Of Insomnia' instruction.

A few moments after, Tsuna's phone rang out a familiar saxophone beat. He looked apologetically at Takeshi, drying his hands and moving outside while picking up the still ringing mobile, only to be stopped by the steel hands of his Rain, who undoubtedly still remember the incident two months ago where Tsuna got a call from their employer and then subsequently vanished for two weeks, before returning with a dislocated shoulder and chain marks around his wrists and ankles. Tsuna huffed but relented, hitting the receive button just as the ringtone pelted out _**"Oh God, I'm going insane..."**_

"Skull-senpai, a little late for calling, isn't it?"

"Never too late for my amazing Godson!"

"Sigh. Never mind that one of my parents doesn't even know you exist."

"Oh sweetheart, tame things like parents would never get in our way."

Tsuna shared an amused grin with Takeshi, remember all the crazy unsupervised shit that they had done over the past years. "Truer words have never been spoken, _padrino._"

The voice on the other end let out a bark of laughter before quietening down as someone else murmured something to the Arcobaleno Cloud. Skull sighed before quietly speaking into the phone, "Shithead over here wants to talk to you."

"Shithead?"

"Hello, Tsunayoshi."

Tsuna let out a heavy sigh, feeling Takeshi's hands grip his shoulders tightly as the familiar voice of their employer rang out from the speakers. "I would say that it's good to hear your voice," he spoke as a means of greeting, "Except that right now, it really, _really_ isn't."

"Believe me, Tsunayoshi-kun, had this not been of the utmost importance, I would have not bothered to call you right now."

"The underworld is in an uproar, Tsuna," the Arcobaleno Cloud continued. "This much is for sure, the Vongola's reason for opening the town up is definitely not _budget problems._ Whatever it is though.."

"It scared them enough to send their heir to a Sanctuary. I see." Takeshi's hands tighten further on his shoulders. Tsuna absently wondered how badly the Rain will be burnt when Hayato sees the bruises in the morning. Feeling a headache coming up, one of his hands gripped his Rain's while the other massaged his forehead. "Do we have any idea what this might be?"

"No yet." Their employer sounded strangely serious. "The Vongola upper echelon is being amazingly silent about this information."

"More likely than not," Skull continued, "It's an alliance of some sort. According to my sources, they're _hell-bent _on twisting the Tri-Ni-Sette to their purpose. Last week alone, there have been at least three kidnapping attempts on an Arcobaleno."

The brunet felt his eye twitch. "Tell me again, _padrino, _who are your sources?"

A tense silence emerged, which was broken seconds later by the nervous laughter of the other Cloud. "Hahaha...I kinda...let myself be kidnapped to get the info?"

The headache bloomed into a full-blown migraine. "_Padrino..."_

"Oh shut up. They sent fucking rug rats after me, Tsuna. I mean, I get that I'm the weakest Arcobaleno and bullshit, bullshit, bullshit, but my kidnappers wouldn't have been able to touch even _Lambo _at their level_._ Tell me that I'm not supposed to seek vengeance after such an insult!"

A giggle caught his attention. "Wow, senpai, I don't even know if that's an insult or a compliment."

Tsuna looked up from where he was holding his head to see all his elements, except for his Mist and Cloud, tired and half-asleep, head towards where their Sky was sitting and collapse near him. As Lambo crawled his head on Tsuna's lap, the brunet quickly deduced the culprit. "Takeshi..." he growled raising his eyes to meet those of his (freakishly tall) Rain.

A laugh distracted him from hearing his Rain's excuses. "And to think that we never even heard Takeshi-kun while we were talking to you," their employer chuckled. "I can see why you are _utterly terrifying _as your Mist says."

"What do you want?" Hayato hashed out. The Storm was leaning against Ryohei's shoulder, looking utterly exhausted silently revelling in the warmth of constant Sun flames. An exhausted Storm, they all knew, was a grouchy one. The Sun hummed in agreement, sagging against the wall. Having usurped the Namimori territory contract from his family, Kyoya was left in-charge of a Sanctuary, which was a truly troublesome thing to rule. He managed the territory alright with the help of his fellow elements, but it left them exhausted by the end of the day.

(**Paperwork is Sawada Tsunayoshi's eternal enemy, it will haunt him no matter what dimension he lives in- #fact universally acknowledged.**)

"Grouchy as ever Hayato," their employer's voice grew serious. "Forgive me for asking this of you, Tsunayoshi, but it must be done."

"What is it?"

"Under no circumstances can the Vongola rings be allowed to remain with the heir. As a component of the Tri-Ni-Sette system, they are in serious risk at the moment. As such, for your next job, I'd like to ask _you_, the Tri-Ni-Sette Sky to retrieve the rings and inherit them."

After a moment of silence, Skull spoke up again. "I understand that this will be hard to do, Tsuna, but _you_ are the one of the Constants of the Tri-Ni-Sette in the alternate worlds, the _only_ Constant in this world, what with the original owners of the Mare ring and the Sky Pacifier dead. Your brother may inherit the Vongola, but he _absolutely cannot _inherit those rings."

Tsuna sighed before laughing lightly. "One thing's for sure...we can never be bored with you guys around, huh Kawahira-ojisan?"

On the other end of the line, their employer laughed as he ate his ramen with the Arcobaleno Cloud, fully willing to let his favourite humans run the show.

* * *

_Skull gasped as he entered the building in which the child was meant to be. Looking at the ruins, he felt his heart sink...had he been too late? A flicker of flames caught his eyes from the corner and he turned to see...Sky flames? There was no chance that any of the goons his dear ex-boss sent possessed them. Ah man...why did he get the feeling that this was going to be a major hassle?_

_Moments later, looking at the tiny Cloud and Mist, working __**side-by-side**__ to destroy the bastards that took their Sky (there was no mistaking it, nothing but a Sky could cause such a harmony among the two most volatile elements) he felt his headache slam back full force. As his pacifier began to glow, he slowly, __**slowly**__ turned to look at the roof of the destroyed complex, heart nearly stopping as the curious orange eyes of his Sky (six years old, already a target for drug lords, already in possession of terrifying elements, so __**heart-breakingly **__**tiny **__and __**fragile**__) looked at him._

_Was this how Luce felt, he wondered, when whatever ominous thing she predicted came to be?_

* * *

_Padrino- _Godfather

*Years later, when Alaude and Daemon entered a battlefield together, the best soldiers of the enemy were given as a challenge to them. When Kyoya and Mukuro entered a battlefield **together** the enemy offered their best as sacrificial lambs.

/it was necessary, the whole town unanimously agreed as they watched Sawada Tsunayoshi get into a fork fight with gun waving Yakuza hooligans and **win.**

_Again, Yamamoto Takeshi was to blame.

^the book really didn't apply to their world, but both Tsuna and parallel world Byakuran insisted that it made good fiction.

that would've probably also been cute, had Lambo not been in kitchen at the time. Tsuna always had a strange attraction to things which could kill him.

* * *

**I take a lot of privileges with Skull, I know, but his character is really shady to me in the show and the manga. Being a stuntman can't be what makes him the STRONGEST CLOUD. He could be a really fun character to elaborate or twerk. His customized ringtone was 'Angels' by Vicetone, an amazing song.**

**I hope you guys noticed how this chapter was buildup too. I put this here because the way that some of the other fics showcased the Tenth Gen really made me uncomfortable. Sure, the Sky might calm the elements down and thus be the most precious, but they all don't **_**just **_**have good ties with him and not each other. This fic could easily have been summarized as, **_**'Adventures in a world where the Tenth Gen grew up to be amazingly dependent, stupidly awesome and utterly terrifying.'**_

**Thanks for the reviews, follows and favourites guys. The Shimon, Dino, Chrome and the others could also be here (Enma and Cozart will definitely be). I am, however, horrible at writing female characters without overpowering or underpowering them, so don't hold your breath. The last thing I want to do is insult my own gender, directly or indirectly.**

**Read and review!**

**Until next time,**

**Arwana13**


	3. nobody wake tsuna

_Fran's grandmother was an actual, genuine psychic and anyone who believed otherwise could go and fuck themselves. With her dry wit and sharp mind, she made the perfect guardian for the little Mist, with his partial eidetic memory. Her potent Mist flames, small in quantity but amazing in quality, were just the cherry on the top. Fran idolised the woman._

_But for all the sharpness of her mind, the fact still remained that the old woman was just that, an old woman. So when the knife waving lackeys of the Estraneo family, having sensed the pure flames and of the belief that the younger their subjects, the better, showed their ugly faces on her property, she could not do much more than make some humanoid-vegetables and watch her precious grandson be taken away by the cursing Mafioso ('Who the fuck said that the old bat was senile?! She's fucking __**terrifying'**__). _

_She had failed her son and daughter-in-law. She'd failed herself. She'd failed Fran._

_It took a long time for her son and daughter-in-law to respond to her summons, busy as they were with their missions, and even longer for them to crack open the minds of the bastards who had been left behind by their Family when it became clear that they were no longer anything but sacks of drool and flesh. The information they received made their hearts sink._

_A branch in Florence...the only known Estraneo branch in that area had been destroyed some time back by the Reaper himself. There were...rumours of the Reaper's fury in that particular branch. ' The scientists there,' the Underworld whispered in fear and awe 'They were __**atomised.'**_

_Again, this really shouldn't be a surprise. The Black Reaper- commonly known as the Reaper, was an interesting figure, shrouded in mystery. Identity? Unknown. Origins? Mm...well, that was one of those things people didn't talk about. What was known, very well indeed, was his absolute disdain for any and all Families experimenting on __**life**__._

_Rumoured to be the last living member of the Adinventi Family, the mother of all families which involved themselves in live experiments and weapons development, he was said to have initially started the trend of Frankenstein's monster coming back to kill his maker- a trend continued by Rokudo Mukuro years later. After appealing his case to the Council, he gained permission to, in his words, "Wipe out the mess my Family made," and then proceeded to massacre each and every offshoot of the Adinventi without mercy._

_A monster, they said, able to kill with only his killing intent and bloodlust. A monster who only his enemies saw properly. A monster in a world of monsters. A monster who was...a baby on a bike?_

_Fran's grandmother blinked in confusion. The baby stared back at her, his eye twitching. A minute passed. Then another. _

_As Fran's parents entered the scene, they too stared at the baby, though for another reason. Apparently fed up with their bullshit, the infant crossed his hands, his mouth settling into a frown._

_As unbelievable bloodlust swept the room, Fran's family was quickly forced on their knees, gasping for breath as the phantom feel of pythons wrapping coils around their throats robbed them of their ability to inhale. "Speak quickly," a high pitched voice spoke in an irritated tone. "I have little patience for silent statues."_

_Snarling, the grandmother stood up. "Listen here, __**midget-UMPH!"**_

_Now trembling underneath the weight of the killing intent, the mother spoke in a respectful tone, "Master Cloud of the Arcobaleno, kindly forgive our mother. She isn't much aware of the events on-going in the underworld."_

_Before the bewildered eyes of the elder, her two children quickly began to lay out the situation in front of the Cloud ('Arcobaleno? What the fuck was that?' Damn she was really out-of-date regarding the current Underworld events) all the while ensuring that their tone remained deferential. The baby listened to them, his expression blank._

_The mother and father, on the other hand, were rather wary themselves. They knew well of the Arcobaleno, all feared individuals in their own ways. All, that is, except for the reportedly whiny, clingy and bullied Cloud. But that killing intent...that was no joke. The stuntman was the real deal, regardless of what rumours said._

_The Cloud listened to their story and remained silent for a heavy moment before sighing. "Those brats," he muttered. "They really should have more care for their elders."_

_Utterly done with this shit, Fran's grandmother moved in front, "Look here, Rainbow-baby. If you know where my grandson is you better spit it out now, or else-"_

_"Be quiet." The high voice was strangely calming. "You're grandson is alive and well, apart from what torture his teacher will be giving him when he hears of this travesty. I'll have him visit you some time soon. Just don't be surprised if he starts screaming when he sees a pineapple."_

_Before she could do more than release a frustrated scream at the cryptic answer, the baby was in front of her, a single finger flickering with Mist flames at her forehead. She could hear her children struggling to take out their weapons from behind, but didn't dare look back, her eyes focused on the Mist flames. Her mind was whirring. A Cloud able to use Mist flames?! Impossible!_

_The infant's lips curled into a smirk. "Let's keep this between us, yeah? Wouldn't want to mess with the rules of the game!" The finger pressed into her forehead and she knew no more._

* * *

Giotto gulped, bead of sweat lining his face as the killing intent in the room increased by the second. Daemon laughed nervously as Alaude froze. Lampo and G had long since dived behind the couch and were pushing each other in order to hide themselves better. Asari looked devastated, but that was to be expected.

Reborn looked first at his favourite gun and then at the _brat _who had _**broken his favourite gun.**_

Yamamoto Takeshi smiled, his lips pulled happily while his eyes looked at the world's greatest hitman as though he were a fish that needed to be skinned. He still held the baseball bat that he'd used to break _**Reborn's favourite gun**_ in his hands. "I'm afraid, Reborn-san," the idol began cheerfully, his tone infused with steel, "that I simply _cannot _allow you to fire any gun right now."

Kyoya facepalmed on the side and wondered what he'd done to suffer through this nightmare.

_**SOME TIME EARLIER**_

When the Vongola Tenth Generation got off the car in which they'd travelled, words could not describe how grateful they were. Apart from Alaude, who was still making those stupid sad eyes that made Giotto's heart ache, none of them were sad to see the back of the younger Hibari. Right up until they realized that he would also be staying at the Sawada house for dinner. Which just...why?!

Until they stepped in and saw the table laden with food, complete with an angel sleeping face down at the head. 'Oh,' the hungry teenagers thought, '_that's _why he wanted to come.'

And then the angel started beeping, in turn triggering multiple actions. Kyoya hurriedly stalked down the table, raising a tonfa ('Where the fuck did _that _come from?' G whispered later) to hit the angel on the head. Giotto hurried forward, compelled by some strange need to protect the angel. Reborn readied his gun, seeing his student experiencing an **EPIC BEATDOWN **(as members of the Hibari clan, adopted or born, were won't to give him when they met. It was funny when Alaude did it, not so much when the Vongola heir apparent got his ass kicked by Fon's **actual toddler** disciple in front of the Vongola council*) due to him not being able to unleash his full power in the closed place that was his own home.

And this is the scene which one Yamamoto Takeshi barged into ('What are all you people doing in my house?' Giotto Vongola later wailed.)He had full faith that Kyoya would be to dodge any bullet, should they be aimed at him...but the gun didn't have any silencer...and his Sky was sleeping...

What happened next really shouldn't have been that much of a surprise when you follow this line of thought.

(**Yamamoto Takeshi doesn't like people waking Tsuna. AT ALL- #fact universally acknowledged.)**

What _was _a surprise was that the younger Rain wasn't dead on the floor yet.

**(Had it not been for Yamamoto Takeshi momentary silver tongue, those "natural hitman" instincts would've had him shot- #fact universally acknowledged.)**

And now they were like this. More than half terrified, one blank, one oblivious and one exasperated.

"Mmm..."

The younger Cloud moved smoothly towards his Sky, bonking him on the head with a tonfa when he blinked up blearily, ignoring the indignant sound coming from a certain blonde. Grabbing the source of the beeping, a digital thermometer, from where it was dangling precariously from the mouth of the brunet, Kyoya glared at the reading. The room was silent.

"102.1 degrees? What the fuck, Yamamoto Takeshi?!"

Daemon choked at hearing the younger Skylark swear. Asari choked as he noticed his _fucking suicidal _little brother _**ducking under REBORN'S ARM **_to stand by the temperamental Cloud . "I swear he was fine when we were cooking," he frowned, staring at the reading as well.

"Gio...nii..."

"Tsuna?!" Giotto exclaimed. "What's wrong with him?"

Cringing at the sudden rise in volume, Kyoya glared at the elder Sky. "None of _your _business, herbivore," he hissed.

"Au contraire," Giotto countered, his eyes flashing. "My brother's condition is very much my business. Now, what's wrong with him?"

"He's alright," Takeshi replied, bringing an elbow to sharply hit the seething Skylark next to him. "Just a little fever."

"A temperature of over a hundred doesn't seem like a 'little fever.'" Reborn snapped back, pissed beyond all belief.

"We're used to it!" Kyoya growled. "_We'll _take care of him."

"Where's Nana-san?" G asked quietly, his eyes analyzing the scene in front of him.

"Out."

"Out where?"

"Out with a friend."

"I see, " Giotto remarked. "Tell me, how often is she _out?_"

Furious grey eyes turned to the heir and the Skylark let out a sharp growl. "Yamamoto Takeshi," he spoke, "Take Tsunayoshi to his room."

"No..." the little brunet moaned. "Gotta eat...gotta eat...gotta..."

_"FINE. Tsunayoshi, eat and then __**go to your room."**_

'That sounded surprisingly like a mother...scolding her child..' Daemon and Alaude though in a moment of miraculous tandem.

Tsunayoshi Sawada, in the short time that he knew the Guardians before being rushed up by the (obviously overprotective) mother-hens surrounding him, managed to charm them all. There was just something about watching the elder Vongola feed his younger brother like a baby bird, carefully blowing on spoonfuls of soup before giving them to him, that was honestly just too-fucking-cute. Asari could see Reborn clicking photos secretly, no doubt to auction them to the Official Fanclub of Giotto di Vongola back in Italy.

Hibari Kyoya held a fondness for small animals. Hibari Alaude held a fondness for small humans. And this little waif of a child managed to cater to both of their needs.

* * *

"I'll ask you again. Where is Nana Sawada?"

The group, barr Takeshi who was looking after Tsuna on the other floor, sat stiffly in the living room. The underlying tension that had been present during the (heavenly) dinner seemed to blow up into a full volcano.

Kyoya sighed, leaning back on the sofa. "I wasn't lying in my earlier answer, herbivore," he spoke, addressing the person who asked the question, Reborn. "Sawada is not present because she's at a friends house."

Giotto frowned. "Did she know that Tsuna was sick?"

Kyoya fell silent, his hair coming forward to shadow his face. "I'm afraid," another voice cut in, "That Tsuna gets sick far too often for her to care now."

The faces of the new arrivals turned to see Takeshi descending from the staircase. "Tsuna's sleeping," he told Kyoya. "I put a cold compress on his forehead. The fever should break by the end of the night."

"What do you mean 'for her to care?!' He's her son!" G raged.

Takeshi sighed. "G-san, please. It's difficult to care for a sick child, even more so when you're doing it alone."

Giotto flinched. Everytime _he _had gotten sick in Italy, his father had constantly been by his side. How could his mother just...

"Besides," Takeshi continued, "We can take care of him. We always have."

Kyoya's eyes hardened. He knew that the omnivore held an affection for his mother due to the memories he received from the parallel worlds, but he remembered all too well sitting by the brunet's side in a hospital and hearing him whimper for his mother while she _wasn't fucking there. She was never there. _

Hibari Kyoya had never felt as useless as he did at that moment.

That's why, despite her smiles and kindness, _he _would never trust her. Tsuna's elements wouldn't trust _anyone _with _their _Sky/. Takeshi was right. They would take care of him, because they always had.

* * *

**INTERLUDE - OTHERS IN THE TOWN**

Kyoko Sasegawa never really liked Sawada Tsunayoshi. That was alright. Because Sawada Tsunayoshi never really cared or Kyoko Sasegawa.

At first it was nothing major. To Kyoko, Tsuna was a weird pre-teen with even weirder friends who did questionable things together and got into fights with the local Yakuza. They were what Hana called the 'monkey kings' of the school. He was free to do whatever he wanted, even if she didn't like the idea of anyone fighting. What she _did _mind was the fact that he pulled her brother along with him into this stupidity.

Tsuna just felt...uneasy around her. Even when she smiled at him and did the usual school idol activities, his intuition kept shrieking at the back of his mind. He never knew why. Until...

_Never before had the young Sky felt such rage through his veins. As he watched Kyoko Sasegawa scold __**his Sun**__ for being __**himself **__and ask him to be less enthusiastic and violent and more like 'Cousin Knuckle', he felt pure unadulterated anger for the first time._

_How __**dare **__she. Ryohei was a bit of an idiot, yes, but his Sun was a pure heart if he'd ever seen one. His hands were gentle when they had not been raised in defence and his Flames, amazingly pure, had helped them pick themselves up after fights too many times to be counted. Ryohei wasn't __**violent**__. He was just a boy who didn't want to be afraid anymore. They all were._

_Despite the unease which he made him feel, he couldn't deny that he used to be a little fond on the girl, if only due to what he saw in the other worlds. She reminded him a little of his mother with all her naivety. That was before he saw this.^_

_"And that is why," he heard a voice from behind him whisper "She'll never be a Sky." Tsuna didn't flinch as Mukuro's hands came to wrap themselves around his waist, long since used to his Guardians' tactile nature. His eyes remained focused on the schoolyard below him, where his Sun was attempting to defend himself to his little sister. "For all her smiles," Mukuro went on "For all her followers, her idol-like image, her innocent-fucking-naivety, she's ruled by reality far too much to let the Storm rage or stand and let the Rain fall. She would be the kind who'd try to block out the Sun's rays and never let the Lightning return the damage tenfold." His lips quirked into a smile as heterochromatic eyes looked fondly at his Sky. "That isn't even considering what would happen when she'd try to chain the Cloud or stop the Mist from deceiving."_

_Tsuna let out a small laugh, leaning back into the hold, imagining what would happen to anyone who attempted to reign Kyoya in. "What is she then?" he questioned in a soft voice._

_"Hmm..." the Mist looked at the figure on the ground, considering. "She's a Moon."_

_"A Moon?"_

_"Yes. Because you see, she only lets the Sun illuminate her momentarily before turning her gaze away from him." _

_They stayed silent for a few moments, watching the increasingly frantic siblings below. As Kyoko's voice increased in volume, Tsuna twitched before slipping out of his Mist's hold to jump down the roof._

_"-oniisan, I don't understand why you have to fight-OH!" Kyoko yelped as Tsuna landed next to her._

_"...Sawada?"_

_Looking into the desperate eyes of his Sun, Tsuna let out a small smile. "Ryo-nii," he said, purposefully keeping his tone light, "Come on. Takeshi has a new throw he wants to show us."_

_He heard Kyoko protesting as he gently grabbed the boxer's hand and began to lead him away. _

_"I hope we're not having any trouble here, miss?" Mukuro's smooth voice rang out from behind them. Tsuna's smile widened as the sounds Kyoko's struggles died out._

_No one was allowed to harm __**his **__elements, no matter how well-meaning their intentions were. Tsuna knew that his Sun would be confused as to why his relationship with his sister was this bad in this world while they looked happy together in all the parallel worlds he'd visited with his Sky. And the brunet knew the answer to that question all too well. In no other parallel world had their ideal selfs been so obviously present. In the world where he'd been the Vongola Decimo, Giotto and the others had been what they aimed to be. In this world, where Giotto and his Guardians existed separately, why would anyone look at the (supposedly) defected models that were their younger relatives?_

_Tsuna rejected their stupid beliefs and stubbornly held on to his own. Yes, they were not like the current Tenth Generation. Hayato was too rash, Takeshi- too easy going. Ryohei's enthusiasm overshadowed his common sense from time to time. Kyoya's bloodlust could seriously get him in trouble one day. God knows how fucked up Mukuro was, and fuck everything, Lambo was a __**child.**_

_They were all children. Vongola blood, Mafia potential, growing up without anything to limit them and temper their Flames except for each other. They were trying their hardest to heal their broken and shield their innocent, trying their hardest to grow stronger so they would not be afraid anymore. Could anyone really fault them for being the way they were then?_

So, it was safe to say that Kyoko was very, very happy that Cousin Knuckle had decided to come to Namimori. He would definitely be able to get through her thick brother's brain!

...right up until she saw who her cousin was with. How in the name of hell had both her relatives managed to get friends so _similar _to each other, when they hadn't seen the other's faces in nearly a decade?!

**END INTERLUDE **

* * *

Morning seemed to come too early for the sleepy teens, who woke up with the sun even _without _Reborn coming in to wake them up Vongola Style. They'd quickly got up and went into the kitchen, their hungry stomachs listening to the sweet smell of food all too well. Sawada Nana was surprised when her son appeared in the doorway, even more so when all his friends came in so soon after him, but she took it in her stride.

"Where's Tsuna, Mama?" Giotto asked, hands gripping the coffee mug as if it contained nectar itself.

"Oh?" Nana hummed. "Tsu-kun? His bag was missing...he must've gone to school then!"

G raised an eyebrow. "Is it alright for him to go? I mean, he looked seriously sick yesterday."

"Oh, that." With her back turned to them, none of them could catch the female's expression. However, her tone, distant and wary, quickly put them on guard. "Tsu-kun gets sick far too often. If he started taking leaves every time that happened, he might get in trouble at school!" She let out a giggle.

_"Tsu-kun gets sick far too often."_

"Ah, but why would Tsuna-san have to leave this early, Nana-san?" Asari asked, his tone purposefully light. "School doesn't start for another hour or so, right?"

"Ah, that useless Tsu-kun of mine is always busy with one or the other troublesome thing," Nana replies, sounding for all the world like she hadn't called her youngest son _useless._

The world was slowly breaking down around Giotto. His mother always sounded so _happy _when they talked on the phone. So interested in his life that he felt absolutely _terrible _about lying to her regarding what he was doing in Italy. In the face of his _batshit insane _father and absent little brother, she'd seemed like the one pillar of sanity which he'd clung to. Had this, this wilful neglect, this name-calling, always been happening behind those calls? Did they even effect his brother as much as he thought they did? Or did Tsuna just write them off as normal incidents, never bothering to pay that much attention to them?

Seeing his student quickly wandering into dangerous territory, Reborn was quick to signal his Guardians to their Sky's mood. Alaude produced the paperwork Kyoya had given them the day before almost out of nowhere ('Did you _sleep _with it, you creep?!' 'Shut up, melon, you have no place to comment on anyone's creepiness.' ) and Reborn smiled his student got adequately distracted at the sight of his enemy in twelve-point font and let his Guardians wash him away in their stream of (almost) meaningless chatter ('Do we write Vongola in our previous schooling, to the limit?' 'No, _idiota_, do you want to get arrested on our first day of school?!')

"Visit the school later," Reborn quietly told Alaude as they stood a little apart from the rest of the arrivals. "It'll let you get acquainted with the territory."

"Hn. Around lunch break?"

"Sure. Take Giotto and the others with you. Seeing Tsunayoshi might calm him down."

* * *

Namimori High was a quaint little school, with its gardens and lotus ponds- all taken care of by students. Its rise as one of Japan's most successful educational institutions had come as a bit of a surprise a few years back. When asked to confirm the rumours of a teacher striking a child, the Principal then had smiled nervously and denied all allegations- claiming that his staff had only chosen to bring a particularly unruly child, whose attendance record was absolutely dismal, to discipline. A month later, he, along with his staff, were put under observation and many of them were fired in a quiet but ruthless showdown which the elder students fondly called 'The Witch Hunts.'

And out of the fires of vengeance and gates of icy hell an alliance was born$. Hibari Kyoya and Rokudo Mukuro collaborated for the first time ever to stage a hostile takeover and start the **New and Improved **Disciplinary Committee. With its active side(which Takeshi rightfully dubbed "The Enforcers") led by the Cloud and its passive side (mostly focused on information gathering) led by the Mist, it truly became an organization to be feared.

The rest of the Guardians quickly fit into place, with Hayato taking over the curriculum design, Takeshi and Ryohei working on physical fitness and Lambo and Tsuna keeping every student happy with a daily dose of cute. This strange mixture of underground-aboveground rule worked in tandem to find competent staff and cut down on the increasing rates of bullying and obesity. Sometime later, the old Principal was made in-charge again, apparently having been found clean of all suspicious activities by the (very confused) government employees and was then hurriedly terrorized into doing all the paperwork.

**(Rokudo Mukuro was a petty little bastard who deserved the name 'hell-child' for more than one reason- #fact universally acknowledged.)**

_Life was __**good.**_

**(Tsunayoshi Sawada was the Sky of Change. You best get into the flow or it'll drag you along- #fact universally acknowledged.)**

* * *

Namimori was a town full of surprises, which were mostly present due to the influence of its protectors. As such, it should come as no surprise that Namimori High, the epicentre of the earthquake known as the TGR, also had many surprises. It was unfortunate that Giotto di Vongola and his merry men met this _particular _surprise though.

"Ok, this is the _seventh _time we've walked down this corridor!" Lampo whined. "What the hell is going on?!"

The group (barr Reborn, who'd gone to the hospital to start digging into their relatives' medical history) looked down the route and grudgingly agreed with the Lightning's statement.

"Nufufufu, Vongola, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Yeah." Giotto sighed. "Hold on guys. Daemon's going to turn this ship upside-down for a bit."

Mist flames began emanating from the teen's form and started to converge down the corridor.

"Ugh...what are you doing?" G moaned, coughing into his hand.

"Be quiet." Alaude replied, already holding a delicate palm to his nose, his eyes closed. Daemon's form dissolved and Alaude twitched as the (annoying-as-_fuck)_ laughter began ringing down the halls.

The ceiling above their heads began cracking and Mist flames rained down on them. Slowly, _slowly, _as the Guardians (with the exception of their Sky+) began to colour green, the world around them dissolved and they found themselves in a garden. Daemon appeared in front of them, his shoulders tensed. "There's another user here," he spoke curtly. "He's strong. Maybe even stronger than me." Abruptly, his manner changed as he snarled, "And _I cannot sense him!"_

"Of course you can't." A monotone voice echoed throughout the garden as the teens began to light their flames, positioning themselves around their Sky. "I don't want to be found."

"Who are you?" Giotto called out, his voice cautious. "Why are you doing this?"

Wind blew from all sides and pooled in front of them, solidifying into a small figure. When it died down and they were able to open their eyes again, they looked at the boy and promptly _reacted._

That hair, that voice, those eyes...what was this child doing here? They remembered all too well how fierce the Varia had been after he'd left, how Mammon had gotten twitchier (he kept muttering about how he'd lost his investment, but Reborn knew all too well that he was jealous of the power the boy possessed), how Bel's smiles grew just a little bit more insane("Ushishishi, the Prince has lost his whipping boy.") They remembered having to listen to Nono calm his son down by explaining _"Now, Xanxus, you __**did **__kidnap him after all, you really have no place to think he'll accept you as his Sky," _while Xanxus screamed about how, "The only way someone could leave the Varia was though **Death!"**

The Varia's missing Mist, Fran, looked at them, his eyes glittering. The ebony crown on top of his head shone in the sun. "What kind of a _kouhai _would I be if I didn't greet my _senpai _nicely?"

* * *

_Fran, Mukuro explained to Tsuna and Kyoya, was the continuation of the experiment which the Estraneo had been conducting on him. "After having established there __**was **__a Hell, they wanted to see how far they could push human minds in it."_

_Fran took over at this point. "I didn't see what Mukuro-senpai saw. The lower levels of Hell are filthy to the core, from what I've heard. They're the ones that should be feared the most."_

_"Then what did you see?" Tsuna asked curiously._

_"The Estraneo designed a machine that would channel Mist flames directly into his brain. By making his mind believe that he was dead, they sent it into the afterlife. By all means, since he's a child, he should have gone into Heaven or whatever else is there, but since the Estraneo only coded __**Hell **__into the machine, there was a malfunction."_

_"I was sent to the top-most level of Hell," Fran cut in. "It's where its King rules. Unfortunately, as I was not well trained in Hell etiquettes, I ended up issuing a challenge to its King."_

_The three slowly turned to stare at the boy. For once, all the three children were caught off guard._

_"And if you don't mind, I'd like to ask for your assistance in waging a war against Hell's top tier." Fran added. "It won't be difficult, they're rather rusty. From what I gathered, no one's issued a challenge in a long time."_

_Years later, after many shenanigans (including a time where Fran was kidnapped by "crazy people, Tuna-chan, the fake-prince kept insisting that he was real for some reason," where he admitted he took "unholy joy" in breaking the knives which the "fake-prince" had,) they all stood in a line to watch the ceremony where 'Challenger Fran' became 'King Fran' and cheered as the crown was placed on his head. _

_Fran's reign became feared in its own right, mainly due to his psychopath of a mentor ('I heard he conquered the lowest six levels when he was a__** child.' **__'Yeah, well how old does he look now, genius?') and his even bigger psychopath of an advisor ('...the advisor is a baby. A loud baby who does stunts.' 'Don't underestimate him, I heard he's charmed __**Death **__to his side.')Along with his other destructive friends and that little brunet child who carried himself with a fae-like aura, Fran quickly quashed any thoughts of rebellions, reorganized Hell's punishment and updated their torture methods. A little inexperienced, yes, but a King worth having, Hell thought. _

_They also discovered why Hell's upper tier was so dusty and then went about fixing it, unintentionally (or was it?) creating Hell's greatest punishment._

_**Paperwork.**_

* * *

*Reborn being Reborn managed to turn it into an example of the "kindness of the Vongola heir" and a tale on how he was "unwilling to hit children."

/With the exception of some vetted people, of course. The elements grudgingly admitted that Tsuna was just too pure a Sky to keep to themselves and _graciously _agreed to share him before being frozen by a pissed Sky screaming about how he was "not a commodity!"

^Actually before, he'd liked her the same way he had liked a puppy down the street, right upto where it nearly bit his ankle off.

$It was a day all who opposed them would come to rue. When the date was later found, it promptly became the Appeasement Day, where the two elements were offered hamburgers and hair gel as bribes.

+Reborn had long since hammered the lesson of 'look cool' into their heads. The Tenth Generation later lamented how easy their siblings made it look.

* * *

**Haha, crack is crack.**

**So, we have some more backstory, some more chaos, some more character introspection. I've been inspired by a few fics in which Skull was an experiment of the Estraneo Family in making his story, I'll admit.**

**I have **_**bones **_**to pick with Kyoko and Nana. Especially Nana. Who the fuck calls their own child 'Useless' no matter how jokingly she said it?! To the fragile bullied mind of a **_**child **_**those words might be a death sentence. KHR managed to soften the impact of bullying, but in the real world, children have committed **_**suicide **_**over this. We're lucky the story happened at all, considering that Tsuna was strong enough to not take a razor to his hand after returning home from **_**years **_**of bullying to a neglectful parent. Kyoko is just...typical damsel in distress heroine...just no. Except for Hana and Chrome, I pretty much have problems with all KHR females.**

**I love Fran to bits. The King of Hell thing was a mashup of ideas from 'Odd-Job Tsuna' by ShamelessDilettante and 'The Unexplainable' by Metamorcy and also the fact that Fran's ring has 666, the number of the devil, the ruler of hell. What happened is a result of my wanting royalty to meet royalty and wanting Fran to _just hate _knives (as a result of knives being the main weapons Estraneo enforcers used.) So, coming soon! A meeting between the knife-wielding Prince Belphagor and the knife-hating King Fran! It's a match made in (pun intended) Hell.**

**Thanks for your reviews and support. Going on a holiday for a while, but see you guys! Stay awesome!**

**Until next time,**

**Arwana13**


	4. welcome to anarchist hell

_To say that Tsunayoshi Sawada was a little confused would be an understatement. The new 5 year old was not sure why he couldn't feel the warmth he normally felt coursing through his veins, but his instincts told him that that had something to do with the elderly man ("Call me Grandpa, Tsuna-kun,") currently leaving the house. He ate the rest of the delicious cake which his mother made for him in a haze, mind trying desperately to recall what happened._

_There was a ...dog. And then...fire...why was he so cold?_

_He didn't sleep well that night. Or the night after that._

_Tsuna's classmates watched in worry as their cute classmate became more and more sad by the day. Where was the happy child who used to give the teachers a heart-attack by walking on top of the fence? Anxiously catching him when he tripped over thin air, __**again, **__Takeshi concluded that something had gone terribly wrong._

_The class promptly closed ranks around the confused vulnerable five year old, their combined might driving away any fool who might try to pick on the brunet while he wandered around tripping over their food and them. _

_Then he started to fail classes. And promptly sent every one of them in a panic._

_Tsuna was what made the science and social science lessons fun for everyone. Where their startlingly incompetent teachers failed to drive the facts through the children's' heads, he succeeded, making all things they were taught sound relevant to them. He was the primary reason why the class had such great respect for history, understanding how it shaped their lives now and not thinking of it as a collection of random dates and useless facts._

_He was also the one who started the tutoring chain, approaching the terrifying (even then) Hana Kurokawa for maths lessons. Yes, the children of this class owed a lot to Sawada Tsunayoshi. So when they heard the teachers muttering about how he'd be made to stay back a class due to his increasingly falling grades, no, they wouldn't feel hesitant about cheating unashamedly to ensure that he stayed with them._

_(The most ridiculous incident was when Hana blatantly __**marched **__up to Tsuna's desk during a math test and just filled his paper standing up right there, relying on Takeshi and Itzumo, who'd somehow gotten explosive chemicals from the lab, to distract the sleaze-ball who taught them.*)_

_Throughout all these happenings, Tsuna remained distracted and quiet, like someone had cut away a part of his personality. Hs class kept on getting more and more desperate. They hadn't seen his smiles for __**months.**_

_It was also along this time that Vongola's security slipped up. News of a fucking civilian who held __**Primo's blood **__leaked out to various families and some of the more...scientifically inclined Famiglia's promptly sent their lackeys to capture this child and bring him to them. The resulting encounter wasn't pretty._

_It came as a surprise to many that Tsuna- sheltered and protected as he was, was actually the first to kill out of his little group, at the age of fucking five. At the time, however, blood covering his hands and splattered across his eyes, Tsuna didn't really feel that surprised. A calm feeling flooded him, the logical side of his brain - absent for so long - began to take over._

_'This man tried to harm you. He did so without flinching. If you had not complied, if he deemed you to be struggling to hard, he would've killed you. You are not at wrong here.'_

_**'Breathe.'**_

_At the back of his mind, the long settled intuition, silent for so long now, began to slowly awaken. Still in the calm haze, Tsuna began to walk away from the body, having burnt it to a crisp. He weaved through the crowd of people going around with innate grace, none of them noticed the blood that was present on his school clothes._

_Once the crowd had thinned, he quietly slipped into the forest surrounding the town, trusting his intuition to guide him. Steady footsteps made their way up a mountain, before he came to a stop near a cliff. And naturally, because he was Tsuna, the calm haze began to wear off. Exhaustion began to set in. When he'd left the town (__**the body, **__his mind whispered like a poison, trying to drag him under already) school had just finished, the sun bright in the sky. He looked at the setting sun now, sitting down at the edge of the cliff._

_Did he really want to do this? His intuition was quiet at the time, letting him decide what he wanted to do. Tsuna knew both the sides of what he was about to do. If it worked, he'd never fall again. That cold that had settled in his soul all that time ago, burying under his bones, would disappear. He'd be able to smile again, laugh again, not being blocked, not forced to watch the world go on around him. And if he failed..._

_**What did he have to lose?**_

_Slowly, he stood up. He looked once again toward the sun, taking in the colour of the sky around it. _

_**Breathe.**_

_Putting another foot forward, Tsunayoshi Sawada jumped off the cliff. _

_Miles away, a shopkeeper in an antique store startled as an orange glow emanated from the back room, following a veritable explosion of Sky flames. _

_Miles nearer, Hibari Kyoya looked at the sleeping little child, who just some time ago __**reeked **__of power and lifted a curious eyebrow before hefting the little body up as though it weighed nothing. He started the trek back to town, teeming with questions. _

_For one, what had the child been doing sleeping near the cliff? How had he gotten those burn marks near him? And, most importantly, was that a Namimori junior uniform? Why the fuck was it covered in blood?_

* * *

Shoichi Irie was rather angry when his conference with Tsuna was delayed. At the same time, he understood why the delay happened. It wasn't often that Fran found intruders on the campus. However, such an incident took immediate priority over any budget editing they would need to do when adding more advanced heat sensors to the campus greenhouse. Not. Honestly, why couldn't Fran just _wait?_

The door opened and Shoichi found himself staring at a blonde copy of his Sky. Oh. So that's why.

EARLIER

Before Giotto or his Guardians could take another step towards the missing Mist, a black blur landed in front of him, a jacket lazily flung over his shoulders. The sharp grey eyes of Kyoya Hibari looked at all of them and Giotto entertained the thought that he was being _judged. Thoroughly._

"Fran," Kyoya spoke, his eyes trailing over Daemon's figure, glaring at the weapon in his hand, "You weren't supposed to be here until tomorrow."

Instead of replying to the statement, Fran smirked. "I found intruders on your turf again, Kyoya-senpai. Slipping up again?"

Kyoya scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Shut up, brat," he growled, gently hitting the back Fran's head with a tonfa.

"Owww, senpaaiiii, that huurrrtttt."

Kyoya rolled his eyes again before settling on Alaude. "What are you doing here? Visitors to the school are not allowed to wander alone without a guide."

Giotto stepped ahead. "Ah, Kyoya-san, is my brother alright? He seemed pretty sick yesterday."

The prefect looked at the blonde for a long moment before 'tch'-ing angrily. He let out a low whistle and extended his hand for the bird which responded to him to sit down on.

"Hibari! Hibari!"

"Hibird, tell the omnivore he has some visitors."

"Hibari! Fran! Omnivore! Visitors!"

Before the startled eyes of the Vongola Tenth generation, the bird flew off presumably in the direction of the 'Omnivore.'

Giotto opened his mouth to ask the question again, only to freeze when Kyoya's grey eyes sharply glanced at him. "Come with me, herbivores," the prefect spoke again, his tone dripping ice. "We're going to see that irresponsible little animal."

They followed him quietly as he led them through the back door into the building. "Oh, and Fran?"

"Hai, senpai?"

"Take off that ridiculous fucking crown."

"Ano, Kyoya-san..." Asari began nervously, "The , 'irresponsible little animal' is it..."

Kyoya scowled. "That herbivore, Sawada Tsunayoshi."

As one, the Tenth Generation sweat-dropped. 'Stick to one label when you refer to him!'

* * *

Tsuna shrieked as the door to his office banged open. "HIEEE! KYOYA! DO YOU _WANT _TO THE BREAK THE DOOR AGAIN?!"

"What is the meaning of this herbivore?" Kyoya hissed.

"Ahh...what the fuck are you talking about?"

Kyoya growled. "You're supposed to be resting at home. Not doing budget control in school. Explain yourself."

Shoichi came out of the trance which he'd fallen into when looking at the copies of his friends who now stood gaping at the doorway. "What do you mean, he shouldn't be at school?" he frowned.

The prefect outright snarled. "Tsunayoshi, you're still sick, aren't you?" he demanded.

"Tsuna?" Giotto chose this moment to come in front, smiling slightly at his brother. "Are you feeling better?"

Stuck between the improbable tag trio of Shoichi, Kyoya and Giotto, each looking at him with varying expressions of concern, Tsuna conceded defeat. "I'm...better than before Giotto-nii," he smiled weakly. "At the very least," he looked at Kyoya, "I'm good enough to _sit at a desk and sign papers."_

Kyoya huffed, looking away from the brunet. Tsuna sighed before his attention was diverted by green hair. "Fran!" he exclaimed happily, getting out of his chair to hug the green haired boy. "I didn't know you were coming to school today!"

"Ah, there was a minor paperwork backlog," the Mist spoke. "Takoyaki-senpai helped me motivate the grunts to do their work."

Kyoya let out a snort of laughter at the nickname even as Tsuna looked disapproving.

"Ah, how do you know Fran-san, Tsunayoshi-kun?" Knuckle asked hesitantly.

"Ah, Fran is actually a student here, Knuckle-san," Tsuna spoke, smiling brightly. "He's a highly valued member of the economics, working mostly with infrastructure and budgeting."

Alaude raised an eyebrow. "They let children handle that?"

Kyoya snorted. "The current motto of the school is 'Change for Change.' Change of authority that it is."

"We're pseudo-anarchists," Shoichi said, throwing in his own two cents. "So authority of adults never really held that much for us. Tsuna was still given a position of power anyway, because he's good at organizing."

_"Takoyaki-senpai?" _G muttered distractedly.

"A friend of ours," Tsuna spoke, sitting back down on the chair. "He's helped us with legal problems and building materials and things like that. Fran just likes to rile him up by calling him that ridiculous nickname."

"Tch," Kyoya scowled. "The herbivore likes to rile _everyone _up by giving them nicknames.%"

"What was that, Eagle One?"

Shoichi sighed. "I _knew _I shouldn't have let Spanner watch those movies with him."

(It wasn't really Shoichi's fault.

**Mists always find ways of annoying the shit out of their fellow elements - #fact universally acknowledged)**

The Tenth generation watched as the neat office delved into chaos while Kyoya ran around throwing his tonfas at the younger Mist while Tsuna watched them with increasingly shadowed eyes before promptly vaulting them out the window when they scattered another pile of paperwork ("That shit takes _ages _to arrange, you heathens!")

"Ahaha, you look pretty clogged up, Tsuna," Giotto laughed, eyeing the piles of paperwork as one would eye a venomous viper. Swallowing up his fear for the sake of brotherly bonding, he took a shot in the dark - "Anything I can help you with?"

Giotto barely had a moment to reconcile himself with what he'd done before he was shot with Tsuna's revised **Puppy Eyes 3.0**/

"Now that you mention it Nii-san, we're kind of experiencing a minor backlog of our own..."

"Amazing," Daemon breathed out, eyes glued to his Sky. He wouldn't deny that those eyes had been poison, but still to offer something like that..."How desperate is he?"

On his side, Knuckle sobbed quietly, eyes shining with pride. "I'm so happy for him," he whispered quietly. "That is a MAXIMUM commitment to make."

Lampo was of another opinion. "If this is what I have to do to bond with my own brat brother, I won't."

"Amen." G, for once, was in agreement with the Lightning.

"Hn."

* * *

Reborn was not a happy Sun at the moment.

Opening the medical records of the young elements had proven to be a trying thing to do, made especially worse when he realised that Tsuna - who seemed to come to the hospital most often - was obviously being treated elsewhere too. There were...gaps in his treatments that could not be explained otherwise. He could almost _smell _the confusion of the doctor who scribbled the line _"It seems as though Tsunayoshi has recently undergone an appendicitis removal operation. Both him and his Guardian refuse to give further details of the issue, as they insist that those details are not required to treat the flu, which is what he's been admitted with this time."_

Even more disturbing were the descriptions of Tsuna's "Guardian" who most definitely was _not _Nana, as made clear by the description provided by one frustrated doctor in his personal diary who ranted about how "the punk was distracting everyone by seducing the nurses! Honestly, why were women so attracted to little goth shits like him?! Which self respecting man wears _make-up?!" _Hence, the question remained, _who the fuck was he?_

Frustrating would be the best word to describe the situation, because Tsuna should not have had any access to other hospitals or medical facilities. Hell, he shouldn't have _needed _any other medical facilities apart from the ones provided freely and with such expertise in his own town hospital. Why then, did he seek help from outside? And who was this Guardian who let him?

The other files were just as vague and annoying. All the other children - Kyoya, Takeshi, Ryohei - who had been left behind in Namimori when it was made a Sanctuary, had incomplete medical histories, with one Hibari Kyoya never having gone to the hospital _in his entire fucking life. _Which, _really? _With the amount of fights he used to pick as a kid?

If only this was the only bad news he had with him, he mourned as he looked at the piece of paper which Nono had faxed to him early this morning. It was also why he was so eager to get Daemon and the others away from him, lest they bombard him with questions and he be forced to kill them. Who knows, then Nono would've been sad or some shit.

_**By the decree of the Council, Rokudo Mukuro has been deemed innocent of all the crimes he was accused of. Having been granted a temporary insanity plea, Rokudo is now under the wing of his Sky and as such, is untouchable to all. The Council has ordered that he be allowed to rest and recuperate and that the Vindice is to join forces with the Black Reaper to ensure that any and all forms of scientific experimentation on children is cleaned out.**_

_**With this in mind, Spade Daemon is to be told that if he uses his Blood Right to cause any further damage to Rokudo Mukuro, who's Sky is under the Council's protection, his life is forfeit.**_

Left at the doors of the Vongola estate by a fuming Vindice officer, this single note had caused an uproar throughout the Italian Underground. There were simply too many unknown factors - the Reaper, the new Sky, _Rokudo Fucking Mukuro. _Speaking of which, a third party would need to appeal a case before the Council in the first place, someone who wasn't Harmonized to a Sky along with Rokudo. Who'd done that? This Sky, was he a child like Rokudo? Was Rokudo actually innocent or did he just manipulate the evidence to make it seem so? He sure was skilled enough, Reborn thought, mind flashing back to when Viper tried to corner the illusionist only to be forced to retreat.

And his Sky, how the _fuck _did he get the Council's protection?! That had only ever been extended to the Sky Arcobaleno before.

Questions upon questions, mysteries upon mysteries, and now he was stuck in _this _town, which seemed like it wasn't going to go easy on him either.

Sigh. What a drag.

The things he did for his students. Guess he'd have to let Daemon know sometime soon.

* * *

The impromptu tour of the school definitely left the Tenth generation amazed, despite the surly nature of their guide. For a school so devoid of any authoritative figures, Namimori Middle had flourished under the guidance of its students, its student government and the amazing professors who taught there.

(Lampo found it a little hard to understand exactly why _professors, _people who'd gotten or were in the process of getting their PhD's, taught here instead of regular teachers.)

That being said, it was amazing that the school had developed so much in such little time. Namimori's monumental success had to attributed partly to its _batshit-insane students. _

By the time Hibird came back to Kyoya, having flown away some half-an-hour ago, the Tenth Generation had been witness to some truly amazing feats of flexibility via the aerobics team ("I really don't think it's healthy to bend that much while carrying that many bricks." "It might not be healthy, herbivore, but it's better than hiring tractors to carry building materials."), cooking via the home economics club ("Alright people, the ingredients might be limited but we shall persevere! The Student Council will never have had such a meal for its lunch break!" "YEEAAAHHHH!"), and music due to the orchestra ("Ah, it's good to see people so dedicated to music," Asari sighed. In the background they then heard the conductor saying, "Alright guys, I know you don't like this classical bullshit, but we _have _to be good if we want the rich people to waste their money on us!")

"Hibari, Hibari! Herbivore! Fight! Gymnasium!"

Normally, this should have just earned the perpetrators a sound 'biting' but as it was, the Gym had just recently been rebuilt, after a conflict between Hibari and Mukuro that left them shaking as a result of Tsuna's destructive wrath. Part of their punishment had been to participate in the rebuilding of the Gym themselves to "make you understand the value to labour, assholes," Tsuna had said.

They understood it now, all too well.

"Uh-oh," Fran intoned from where he'd hidden behind Kyoya's back to avoid the Tenth Generation's (creepy) inquisitive stares. "Milkshake-senpai is _not _going to like this."

So didn't Kyoya, for that matter. The younger Cloud's statement sounded more like a snake's than anything else^, _**"I will bite them to death."**_

And in one of the most action-packed high pursuit chases they've ever participated in, the Tenth Generation found themselves weaving through crowds of humans, books and instruments of many kinds to come and rest beside Kyoya at the entrance of the Gym. Even as Kyoya pushed open the huge doors to reveal the commotion inside, all that they could hear was the 'Imperial March' which Fran hummed all the way.

"Yamamato Takeshi, exactly _what the fuck do you think you're doing?"_

The younger Rain looked up, grinning when he saw Kyoya even as other humans decided to make themselves scarce by the dozens. "Heya, Kyoya!" he exclaimed, waving the hand that wasn't too busy being buried in the gut of another student. "Come to join the party?"

Asari surveyed the bodies lying on the floor, at least 10 in number, and thought that this wouldn't be a very fun party to attend. From the way his grip tightened on his tonfa, Kyoya seemed to agree. "You have exactly three seconds to explain what you're doing before I decide to bite you to _death."_

Sensing the increase in blood-lust, Takeshi quickly put his hands up. "Woah, there, Kyoya," he spoke, still grinning, "Wouldn't want to do anything rash there!"

Kyoya _hissed _(no other way to describe it,) threateningly raising one tonfa. Asari intervened before things could get ugly. "Takeshi," he came up front, frowning, "What is this?"

Takeshi's smile sharpened when he saw the frown and the baseball player struggled to lessen the wave of 'how dare he judge me, he hasn't even been here for the longest time' and force the understanding of ' well, this would look bad to anyone.'

"Nothing big, Asari-nii," Takeshi spoke, still smiling a shark's smile. "Just some trash that thought that they'd litter out beloved President's room while he was absent, that isn't very nice, you know," he suddenly switched, speaking to the boy who he had caught by the collar.

Kyoya froze at the explanation before forcing himself to relax. He watched for a long moment as Takeshi 'lectured' the delinquents, before interjecting, "He's here."

"What?" Takeshi says absently.

Kyoya made a sound of disgust, "Tsuna's here."

Dark intelligent eyes pinned them where they stood. Asari sucked in a breath at how much Takeshi looked like...him in those ridiculous paintings of the Tenth Generation the maids at the mansion drew.

"Ahahaha, I'm not sure I got what you said right, Kyoya. Tsuna's here?"

The Cloud scowled. "Yes, despite all logic pointing in the opposite direction. The herbivore insists that he's healthy enough to attend school."

Knuckle winced as Takeshi unceremoniously dropped the boy he was holding, barely stopping himself from going to his aid.

"Well, we can't have that now, can we?" Takeshi's smile was a dark parody of his usual ones. Spying upon another familiar figure in the back, he raised his hand in greeting, "Yo, Fran. How do you feel about undertaking a rescue mission?"

"A rescue mission, ball-head-senpai?" Fran questioned even as Asari mourned the fact that a motherfucking would-be assassin is on a first name basis with his brother.

"Hai, hai," Takeshi laughed. "The victim, of course, is Sawada Tsunayoshi."

"And the perpetrator?" Alaude asked, an eyebrow raised.

"His own fucking idiocy." Kyoya snapped back.

Takeshi smiled again, a little more genuine and took a few more steps forward, a hand coming to gently rest upon Kyoya's. "We'll take care of him," he whispers.

Kyoya grunts back, shoulders relaxing.

Takeshi's face splits into a wild grin and he turns to weave past the Tenth Generation, snagging Fran by his collar. "See you later, nii-san," he hollers as he turns to leave. "We're going fishing."

* * *

A day dawns and both sides unveil a new start.

* * *

Fran and Takeshi find Tsuna alone in his office, Giotto having left sometime earlier, and promptly panic when they notice he's crying.

"I'll slice him like a fish-" Takeshi begins to snarl before he's cut off by a gentle wave of his Sky's head. Tsuna smiles despite the tears falling from his eyes as he nudges a paper towards the two elements.

_Dear Tsuna,_

_I have to admit, when you asked me to sponsor Mukuro to the Council, I had my doubts. All of us did. And you, naturally, had to defy all expectations __**again. **_

_Rejoice, mio cielo, for today your Mist is free to walk underneath your domain again._

_Yours forever,_

_Enma_

"Tsuna, is this-"

"Yes," Tsuna whispered even before Fran finished his sentence. "It's real."

Fran _flings _himself at the brunet, who just laughs and wraps his arms around the Mist. "It's real," he whispered again, giddy with glee. "He's free."

And if Tsuna's sleeve was wet when Fran was pulled away by Takeshi, under the accusation "hogging Tsuna" no one commented.

No one had time to, as the elements soon remembered their initial mission an proceeded to manhandle/guilt-trip their Sky home.

* * *

"I'm a little concerned about the level of devotion which our brothers hold towards yours," Asari informed Giotto when the elements entered the cafe where their tutor had told them to arrive after their little excursion.

Giotto raised an eyebrow, unwilling to stop sipping on the hot chocolate which his tutor had presented him with when he heard exactly _how far _Giotto had been willing to go to bond with his little brother.

Daemon clamped his hand over Asari's mouth before he could say anything else, because he knew that complaining that their brothers were "over-protective" of his little brothers wouldn't really effect Giotto. He'd probably just cheer them on.

The Tenth Generation sat down and placed their orders, waiting for their tutor to put down the phone where he was telling the Varia about Fran's presence and join them at their table. When he did, Giotto immediately caught on to his tense form.

"What's wrong, Reborn?" he asked.

"I'm afraid," their tutor sighed, "that I don't have much good news." He paused for a second letting that sink in and noting with approval how each of them only minutely tensed.

"To begin with, your brothers medical records have been tampered with," Reborn started speaking. "There are...inconsistencies in their visits to the hospital that make me suspect that they go to someone else for treatment when they're hurt and not to the hospital."

"Do we have any idea who?" Lampo asked, his brows furrowing.

"I have a vague description, but nothing concrete so far."

"What else, Reborn?" Giotto asked.

The hitman paused, licking his lips to figure out the best way to deliver this. "Daemon, I think you should brace yourself."

"What?" the Mist questioned, confusion in his eyes.

With much trepidation, Reborn slipped him the note he'd received earlier. "This was given to the Vongola Mansion this morning by a Vindice guard."

Daemon was quiet as he read the note. He finished it an put it down on the table before burying his head in his hands. "What the fuck." he spoke brokenly. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean? Mental instability?" He glanced up at the Arcobaleno with desperation in his eyes. "Is he telling the truth?!"

Reborn shook his head gently even as Giotto guided his Mist's head to his shoulder. "We don't know yet, but we promise you," he vowed, "that we'll find it all out."

And so he would. He'd get all the facts with his _Dying Will._

* * *

_"Fluffy human," Kyoya greeted the boy when he woke up. "You're sick."_

_"I...what?" Tsuna mumbled, confused as fuck. What happened? There were flames and blood..._

_Tsuna abruptly vomited as the reality of what he'd done forced itself on him. He was vaguely aware of a hand coming up to pat him on the pat awkwardly as its companion forced a bucket under him. Nearly thirty minutes later, when Tsuna was bundled up on the couch with a glass of water near him, Kyoya leaned forward._

_"Talk."_

_Words spilled out of his mouth like rivers and Tsuna found himself telling this stranger everything, no matter how much it sounded like a bad fiction story plot. His intuition, fully awake and conscious, told him that this boy would not mock him or disbelieve anything he said. He was safe. Warm, the same way Takeshi was._

_Kyoya sat through the tale of extremely bad parenting and neglect with amazing poise, considering the anger welling up inside him. He panicked once when Tsuna started crying upon recounting how he killed the man ('You should have noticed that one of your citizens was in danger,' his brother's voice echoed in mind) before throwing caution to the wind and pulling the hysterical child in his arms._

_When Tsuna left, well into the night, he was still pale and shaky, but he walked with a newfound grace. He stopped a few blocks away from his house as his intuition went quiet suddenly and looked up to see the shop-keeper who so often gave him candy standing in the middle of the path._

_Kawahira's eyes were full of something like regret but his words were like steel when he spoke. "Hello there, Tsunayoshi. I apologize for keeping you from your house, but I'm afraid I have something I need to discuss with you."_

* * *

*This was also what got Hayato's respect for Takeshi building in the coming years. To hear that his noble art was used to help Tsuna-sama in such a way flattered him.

%Yes he did. The sole reason they lived with it was to hear him call Byakuran "Fluff-ball"

/Versions 1 and 2 having been destroyed by Skull and Kawahira respectively.

^Alarming because Kyoya was called a lot of animal names, with the worst one having come from one of their enemies who called him "a retarded snail-skunk hybrid."

* * *

**Late, late, I know. But hey, I wrote in two days, since I only got stable wifi after like, a month, day before yesterday. A lot of my personality bled into this chapter - my thing with science, with history, with _authority._ See, apart from Giotto and the others' presence and Tri-Ni-Sette stuff, the only thing I've changed in this story is that I didn't let Tsuna's classmates remain tiny ignorant dicks. Head cannon of mine - Tsuna was a delight to be around as a child. Everyone loved him and then the seal fucked him up.  
**

**So, mindless shit goes on in the front while a sinister plot builds up in the back. I'm thinking of doing a Skull back-story and plot things next chapter. Opinions?**

**Updated the chapter names because I had them lying around and thought well, why the fuck not?**

**Also, dear guest, I apologize sincerely if my tags bug you. However, any writer will agree when I talk about how hard it is to change writing styles mid-way. I agree that it's probably a thing of the moment, but then isn't everything? A time may come when I become ashamed of the fact that I used to watch anime, as horrible as that sounds. I simply have to accept that.**

**That you guys for the awesome support. Know that any spin-offs, one-shots or fanarts are welcome as long as I get to see them at least once :)**

**Stay awesome,**

**Until next time, **

**Arwana13**


	5. writing parallel worlds is a nightmare

_One day, Skull will write a book of how he became the ultimate drug-lord of South Italy who in-fact didn't deal in drugs at all. He thinks that it'll probably be named: _

_**How to Revolution**_

_**by**_

_**Skull de Mort**_

_Step One - Shoot your (asshole) boss in the (fucking) head. Don't look back._

* * *

_Let's be real, Skull didn't expect to be left alone by his previous Famiglia when he shot their boss in the head and ran off to another fucking continent. This, though...this was a surprise._

_"Please take over the Family as boss!"_

_Skull looked at the pathetic insect squirming before him with raised eyebrows. "And why exactly should I?" he purred. The Arcobaleno thoroughly enjoyed being in his adult body again: seeing the faces of the lackeys who used to sneer behind his back spasm with fear was just...beautiful. Oh he was going to milk this for all it was worth._

_The idiot looked like he was about to shit himself, but the girl next to him maintained her composure incredibly well. "The Carcassa is falling apart, Master Skull," she explained in curt tones. "It seems that the late Don Carcassa was in debt with many Dons of the Camorra. In the days prior to his death, his was negotiating for the debts to be postponed or cancelled." Here, her eyes filled with slight malice. "As you well know, those negotiations were unfortunately cut short."_

_Skull smiled coldly before extending his bloodlust enough to cause the girl to shiver. "That is indeed unfortunate," he agreed, still smiling a wolf's smile. "However, any and all threats to my Sky must be eliminated without question."_

_That stopped the two for a second. The girl's eyes widened. "Your Sky?" she replied back dumbly._

_"Yes," a voice came for the doorway. "His Sky."_

_Both the representatives of Skull's former Family watched in unchecked shock as Tsunayoshi Sawada entered the room, the now useless Sky Arcobaleno pacifier looped loosely over his thin neck like a cursed memento. He set down the tray of tea and sat quietly next to the Arcobaleno. _

_"Please, continue," he spoke in a soft voice, picking up a glass and sipping the liquid inside it. "I'm only here to advise when needed."_

_Awkward silence reigned, which Tsuna ignored with the patience of a trained-pro.^_

_When his tea was finally over, Skull slammed the cup down, ignoring the way it cracked the side. He opened his eyes fully, aware of the fact that the irises had turned golden the way they only did when he was pissed. "If you are done," Skull began, his voice poison soft, "staring at __**my**__ Sky, then perhaps you could finish you useless drivel and get the fuck out."_

_Understanding for the first time that they were in a bad place, staring at the __**child **__Sky of the __**Strongest Cloud **__in the fucking __**World, **__the two stuttered the entire story out, filling in the details ("the Ozi Family has declared a deadline for their loans, if the money isn't with them by then, the Mafia war will engulf all of Palermo," "The right-hand of the late-boss is adamant on 'preserving his legacy,' he seems to think he's some sort of a regnant until the young Mistress is ready to take the throne. He'll drive the Family in war, ruled by pride as he is,") before stumbling out, still trembling, and swearing to wait for Skull's reply to their offer at a hotel._

_"Ahh, what a hassle," Skull sighed, cleaning up the table and putting the tray away. "Really, why do they have to bug me now?"_

_He turned to Tsuna, who had his eyes shut, his backbone straight as if he were meditating. Skull frowned as he noticed the tell-tale signs of exhaustion under his eyes. "Tsuna."_

_The young Sky turned towards him, his eyes still shut. "Hmm?"_

_"You okay?"_

_One orange eye opened almost lazily and Tsuna pinned him with a look of bewilderment. "Of course I am. Why would you think otherwise?"_

_Skull raised his eyebrows before sitting down near his Sky and drawing the lines of the dark circles with his finger. "You haven't been sleeping," he confirmed in a solemn voice._

_Tsuna leaned into the touch, his face dropping down until Skull's hand was over his forehead instead of his eyes. The Cloud's eyes narrowed at the high temperature, but Tsuna spoke up before he could comment. "It's been like this all month," he said. "Ever since the curse was broken...Gokudera thinks that it's fucking up my internal system by destroying the enzymes due to high temperature."_

_Skull made a vague noise of sympathy. The last few months had been tough on all of them, the stupid parallel world, the stupid parallel people, motherfucking Reborn. And really, Skull feels bad for parallel him, who will now have to deal with the barrage of stupidity which will follow (not to mention __**motherfucking Reborn,**__) but hey, better him than...him, right? _

_(__**Finding pronouns for parallel world counterparts will always be a pain in the ass - #fact universally acknowledged.**__)_

_At least now, Skull had time to prepare for the inevitable collapse of his visage. Poor parallel Skull - he shuddered to think of the conversation which would be occurring in that world right now._

_"Do you want to do it?"_

_The Cloud looks down at the tiny figure in his arms with his eyebrows raised. "Don't you think you have enough projects on your revolution list already?"_

_Tsuna let out a laugh. "What, the war on Hell? Come on; it's just one war. Fran's saying that we'll win eventually anyway. Besides," he added with a wry smile, "I think that if we make Kyoya suffer any more illusion fights, he'll just commit genocide and then Fran won't even have a kingdom to rule over."_

_Skull laughed freely in a way that he was prone to do since he found his Sky again. "That's true enough." After he met the "knife-waving hooligan who had the __**gall **__to call himself a prince," Fran had been entirely to invested in the idea of having a crown himself. "He would find the Carcassa all too undisciplined."_

_Tsuna's lips pulled up in a smirk. "That's good. He's been __**itching **__for a good biting for months now."_

_And just like that, Skull's future sealed itself. All his plans of seeing the world now that he recovered his old body scattered in the wind with a simple conversation with his Sky. Skull knew that it was wrong to say so, Tsuna never once even __**implied **__that he wanted Skull to take over a Mafia Family for him, but still, for this little fae child, whose will could crumple the boundaries of parallel worlds like tin foil but whose enemies could crumple his body like the same, Skull would conquer the world._

_But first, he had to get to the representatives and wipe their memories. Wouldn't want them to ruin the play of the game this early, right?_

* * *

The Guardians would never admit that they're that thankful for Byakuran Gesso and his presence in their lives. Albeit, the gratitude was the kind you'd hold for a cat who peed on your shoes and made your depressed friend laugh. Not that Tsuna would ever enjoy their misery.

(**Tsuna wouldn't know the meaning of ****true**** Schadenfreude if it danced naked in front of him - #fact universally acknowledged.**)

As for Byakuran, this world was a mystery. He'd heard about it in the annual Mare Parallel world meetings (those were always fun - everyone brought different company marshmallows, marshmallow cakes, marshmallow **pies - **some Byakurans even brought their versions of Shoichi with them and watching him have an aneurysm by shouting **"BYAKURAN!" **and having so many "Yes?" answer his scream was always awesome,) where one Byakuran (the one who lived in the world where Tsu-chan was a doctor, if he was right) mentioned that he somehow stumbled into the world where the Vongola First Generation was alive. Naturally, they all got curious, because none of them had received any memory from the Byakuran of that world but the lazy asses they all were, they just decided to close their eyes and point at a random Byakuran, leading the one who had the most fingers pointing at him to make the trip.

(**Byakuran logic is the best logic (for Byakuran) - #fact universally acknowledged)**

Byakuran was already wary of this world - crossing its boundary had been tedious, as if the Tri-Ni-Sette wasn't functioning quite right. He entered with difficulty and immediately sought out Tsuna's unique flame signature to find his favourite Sky and sooth himself.

A look at the Tsuna of this world proved that something was desperately wrong almost immediately. Let it be known that Byakuran has seen a lot of Tsuna - as a teacher, as a doctor, almost always as **The Great Sky**, but in no world had he seen **this **phenomena. The Mare Ring sitting on Tsuna's finger was a bad enough surprise. The moment he saw the pacifier resting on his neck, Byakuran's eyes widened and he did something completely unusual.

Byakuran Gesso, leader of the Gesso Family, holder of the Mare ring and a third of the of the Tri-Ni-Sette Skies freaked out.

And as is bound to happen when overgrown, over powerful children freak out, the world around him exploded.

* * *

**A LAND FAR AWAY, A TIME LONG...TO COME, I GUESS?**

**(a.k.a. doing name and time for alternate universes is a fucking nightmare, does anyone else feel this pain)**

Vongola Decimo, Sawada Tsunayoshi was pretty much resigned to disaster when the doomed Week Of Gathering came. So was the rest of the Mafia world.

Vongola meetings were normally held in groups, because insanity in such large numbers was poisonous (or so Tsuna said.) But because Reborn was Reborn and no one loved Schadenfruede as much as the fedora-wearing menace did, he simply HAD to assign a week where the ENTIRE MOTHERFUCKING FAMILY AND ITS ALLIES met up. The Vongola 'mad house' was, unfortunately, also an 'open house.' And Tsuna, its main attraction, **wasn't allowed to escape.**

(It was necessary that a week like this existed because -

**If the Vongola and its allies went without a dose of Tsunayoshi Sawada for a month, then someone's head was going to get cut - #fact universally acknowledged.**

It was also necessary that this was only a week, instead of them all living in the same town or something because -

**Sawada Tsunayoshi loved his Family, but if he had to deal with ****all ****of them ****all the time, **_**the world would drown in blood -**_** #fact universally acknowledged)**

The third day of open-mad-house, and so far, just a couple of burnt down buildings. Or, you know, a dozen or so, but who was counting? Certainly not Tsuna, he never suggested this mad-house, no, this was all **motherfucking-Reborn-**

"Tame down your thoughts a little, dame-Tsuna," said motherfucker smirked from his position near Tsuna's chair at the dining table. "Pretty sure all the mothers in Sicily are covering their children's ears due to your filthy language."

Tsuna slammed his head down at the table. "Fuck off, Reborn," he moaned.

The hitman cocked his gun, "Don't get too cocky, dame-Tsu-"

"Wait, is someone missing?" Skull cut in before Reborn could shoot the boss. Tsuna sent him a grateful look, which he returned with an unnoticed grin as Reborn let a bullet loose his way for interrupting him.

Reborn fell into silent contemplation, his eyes roaming through the crowd gathered in the room. "Oi, Tsuna," he drawled, "Where's that Mare Sky of yours?"

Tsuna bristled like a cat. "He isn't **my **Sky, Reborn - wait, he isn't here?!"

The shriek attracted attention from the others in the room. "Haha, what's gotten you so keyed up, Tsuna?" Takeshi smiled, his eyes sharp.

Tsuna, however, seemed to on the verge of a panic attack. "Something...something's going to happen...Byakuran-!"

Tsuna shout was abruptly cut off as a BANG echoed throughout the mansion, following a flash of light outside. The young Sky was up and at his feet before anyone even had time to flinch, flinging himself across the room and out of the small window.

"Tsuna, you fucking idiot!" Reborn snarled, readying his gun before following his student. One by the one, all the guests evacuated until only one person was in the room.

"Ahh...this is going to be a pain, isn't it?"

Skull de Mort drank his glass of wine like one would drink whiskey and slammed it down. He didn't know why, but his gut told him he'd need it.

"Well, then, let's get this show on the road."

* * *

The first thing the Guardians saw when they arrived near where their boss was standing was that Tsuna seemed to have attracted a white coloured-leech.

Hayato foamed at the mouth, immediately going next to his boss and _**ripping**_Byakuran off of him. "Jyuudaime! Did the marshmallow bastard bite you?! Jyuudaime, I don't want you to be effected with sweet germs! JYUUDAIME!"

Takeshi laughed at the scene in front of him, as though the Storm wasn't shaking the Sky so hard he wasn't able to breathe. "Come on, Hayato, Tsuna's fine." Abruptly, his demeanour changed as he glanced to the side where Byakuran was being held at trident-point by Chrome and Mukuro. "I'm sure that Byakuran knows not to pull of any stunt like that now."

But the Mare Sky was nothing if not stubborn. Oblivious to the killing intent leaking off both the Mists, he simply held his hands in front of him, opening and closing his palms as though he were asking for candy.* "Tsuuuu-chaaann."

Gently breaking out of his Storm's arms ("Hayato-kun, I'm okay, jeez, no one infected me, what the fuck are sweet germs even,") he stumbled along to the Mare Sky, pushing the tridents away. "Byakuran," he shook him when he doesn't respond. "Byakuran, what's wrong?"

With a wail, the Sky launched himself on the brunet again. "Tsu-chan, I panicked!"

Xanxus, apparently at the end of his rope with this shit, lit up one of his guns and growled out an impatient, "What the fuck are you talking about, trash?!"

Any further replies were but off by a new BANG as the clear that they were in was filled with light. Chrome barely had enough to time yank Tsuna away by the collar (Mukuro holding up Byakuran like a baby with a dirty diaper at the back) and shove him out of the way of the **FUCKING TORNADO WHICH CAME OUT OF NOWHERE.**

'Oh. Well, that's new', Tsuna thought.

"It's made out of Mist flames," Mammon screamed above the winds.

"Oh really, thank you for that insight genius! And here I thought that the nature finally decided it had enough of the fake-albino!" One day, Tsuna would find the person who taught Mukuro sarcasm and slaughter them. /

"Both of you, shut the _fuck up!" _Oh, Chrome was definitely getting more time off after this. If she hadn't been here this long, one of the two illusionists would've been killed.

Reborn silently held up Leon and fired three simultaneous Chaos shots into the tornado, only to 'tch' in annoyance when the anomaly ate them up. "We need Mist flames to get rid of this one!"

"You owe me, Vongola," Mammon spat even as he geared up for a triple attack with Mukuro and Chrome.

The three collapsed a minute later, panting harshly and glaring at the still swirling freak-of-nature taunting them.

"Whoa! What the fuck happened here?"

Reborn glared at the new arrival and spat out a, "Never knew you were retarded enough to be unable to tell the time, lackey," before focusing on the tornado, shooting it in tandem with Xanxus to no avail.

Tsuna looked at Skull with his eyes wide before abruptly shouting at Byakuran, "Did you accidentally drag someone from the parallel world you visited?!"

"Maybe," Byakuran replied, "I don't really know - _oh shit."_

He trailed off partly because Hayato shouted "It's like the Mist flames holding the illusions are multiplying!" and partly because parallel Tsuna was wearing a Mare ring and was surrounded by his Guardians and...

As one, he and Tsuna turned to look at Skull, horrified. Skull, his cheeks red from where Lal slapped him for being late while simultaneously debriefing him on the situation, looked back at them before his eyes widened with understanding and he shouted a loud, "NO!"

"What are you whining about now, kora?" Colonnello mumbled from where he was lying on the grass after Fon pulled him out when he tried to dive into the tornado.

"Haha, nope, Tsuna, I love you, you're my little brother and shit _but I'm not going to do this, not here, not now, not ever," _Skull hissed.

Laughing a little helplessly, Byakuran pointed out, "Skull, I'm pretty sure that if we're right, you're the _only _one who can do this."

"Skull-nii, _please,"_ Tsuna spoke up, his eyes going teary.

Everyone stopped and looked at Tsuna the way one would look at a train-wreck before eventually looking at Skull the way one would look at the person who wrecked the train their entire Family was on.

"Lackey, what the fuck is going on?" Reborn looked ridiculous, his fedora blown off, his hair windswept, usually immaculate clothes shaken - but he still had a smoking gun and he was **Reborn **so no one dared comment even if the cow looked like he wanted to bust a rib laughing.

He glared at him for a second before huffing in satisfaction as Lambo ducked behind Takeshi with a 'eep.' He'd teach the cow a lesson when this was all over.

"Tsuna...don't," Skull warned.

"Eh, I don't think you have much of a choice here, Skull-chan," Byakuran cut in, his eyes darkened with madness. "One of the people who I dragged with me through this world's boundary wasn't in the best of shapes when I saw him. And if this..._protective streak _of yours goes on any longer, we might not be able to help him."

Skull was silent before he started walking towards the tornado, as though he wasn't alert of the fact that Lal looked like she wanted to murder him where he stood. "Once I do this, Tsuna," he spoke with resignation, "I'm taking a long, long vacation."

"Ok, what the _actual _fuck are you guys talking about?" Lal, cut in, apparently _done _with all this bullshit. "And where the fuck do you think you're going?" She addressed Skull who was walking towards the tornado.

"Get the fuck back, all of you."

Xanxus growled. "You've got guts, telling _me _what to do, bitch-"

"Xanxus, it's fine." Tsuna spoke up. "You all...should listen to Skull-nii. He's got this."

"Once this is over, we're having a _long, long _talk, dame-Tsuna," Reborn said sharply even as he gave the signal for retreat. A minute later, there was an invisible barrier separating everyone from the illusion and the Cloud standing in front of it.

Another minute passed - mist filled the clearing, visibility took a dive, no one could see anything anymore. Panic reigned as unknown bloodlust forced Lambo on his knees.

Another two minutes - sound of the tornado lessened, the winds stop blowing around.

Five more - the mist cleared up, finally some semblance of _calm _(although, with Squalo still shouting "VOII!" loud enough to match the tornado, calm is something that the Vongola Family can never have.)

And finally, with the clearing empty of all unnatural phenomena, they are able to see the illusionist who made the illusion and those who he was protecting.

_"Motherfucker," _the Arcobaleno Skull whispered.

"Indeed," the ex-Arcobaleno Skull smiled, all teeth.

Between them, the Vongola Family gaped, looking first the grown version of the stuntman, then the small one and finally settling on the tiny figures of the Vongola Tenth Generation.

And, as if to top it all off, tiny Tsunayoshi Sawada took one look at his alternate self and promptly fainted on the shoulder of his worried Mist.

"WHAT THE _FUCK _IS GOING ON HERE?"

Well, Xanxus, they all would like to know that.

* * *

Story time : Skull and Tsuna's friendship was actually a bit of a joke in the eyes of the Family and they never failed to remind them of this. _They_ prominently being Reborn and the rest of the Arcobaleno, with the Varia thrown in as a side-dish. The rest of the Guardians just watched Tsuna with careful eyes and realized that he knew something they didn't and kept their mouths shut.

Fact time : Skull had no intention of ever telling anyone apart from Tsuna and that omniscient bastard Byakuran of his abilities with the Mist flame.

Reality time : Well, fuck, there went that plan.

"Lackey, what the hell was that?"

"How the fuck did you use Mist flames?!"

"That's fucking impossible, kora!"

"Guys, I don't think this is the time for Q&amp;A," Tsuna said, worriedly looking at his younger counterpart.

Reborn broke out of the one-sided staring match he had going on with Skull and started glaring at Tsuna instead. "Don't think I've forgotten your part in this, idiot student," he glowered before stomping over to the younger version of the Vongola Tenth Generation.

Skull panicked as he saw Reborn approach him where he's standing next to their visitors and promptly squeaked a "I'vegottogosorryseeyouguyslaterneverbye," before disappearing in a whirl of Mist flames. As the Sun snarled, the younger version of the Cloud winced and looked like he wanted to follow, but held still for his charges.

"Don't even think about it," he cut in coldly before Reborn could activate his sun flames to heal the child. "Tsuna's not flame compatible with people from alternate worlds. Not to mention, _they_," gesturing to the Kyoya and Mukuro, who'd come in front of Tsuna protectively, forming a circle, "would try and gut you before you get even two feet closer."

(The elder versions of the two looked like they'd been betrayed by their bosom twin at the sight of their counterparts working _together_. It was hilarious, but Tsuna didn't dare laugh. Not right now anyway.%)

Tsuna walked past Reborn, nearing the children with an easy smile. "Hey," he said, extending a hand to the child version of his Storm. "I suppose you already know this, but hi, I'm Tsuna."

He heard both versions of his Guardians snort softly in laughter and held back a chuckle himself. Honestly, their younger versions were too cute.

"Do you want to go back to the mansion?" he asked, keeping eye contact with the younger Storm. If this person was anything like Hayato, he would not appreciate an adult not looking him in the eyes.

"Hah, like that would happen," Gokudera snarked. "Sorry, Tsuna-sama's clone, but _I, _for one, have been given the 'don't follow strangers who offer good things' speech wayy to often."

Tsuna could _feel _Hayato burning his counterpart with his eyes. He sighed before gently explaining, "Tsunayoshi could rest there and you guys could tell us what happened. We'll figure a way to get back out, okay?"

Skull sighed before telling the children to break the circle and allowing the Family to see their parallel younger boss. "You can't help us here, Tsuna," he spoke, voice weary. "When Tsunayoshi wakes up, he'll take us back to our world himself."

Every _inch _of his intuition shrieked when he saw the condition his younger self was in. No wounds decorated his body apart from a cut on his forehead, but the Mare ring and the Sky Arcobaleno pacifier told him that something had gone _wrongwrongwrong _better than any physical deformity ever had.

Tsunayoshi stirred, sending all of the younger Guardians in a panic. It's actually...pretty hilarious, seeing them run about like headless chickens.

(A glare pressing into the side of his head told Tsuna that his Cloud had once again used his creepy expression skills to hack into his mind and catch that thought and he was _not happy _with it. Whatever. The bastard could deal for now.)

Tsuna sank further down, uncaring of how Gokudera was cursing him out for being near "Tsuna-sama" and being held back by Yamamato or how Hayato was cursing his counterpart out for "disrespecting the Tenth, you little shitstain," and being held back by Takeshi. He focused on his younger self and smiled when his eyes fully opened and widened upon seeing Tsuna.

_"Motherfucker," _Tsunayoshi breathed before Tsuna can even _think _of a greeting to make this less uncomfortable.

He sighed and smiled again, a little sadder this time. "Indeed."

* * *

_The war that breaks out among the drug lords in South Italy is not grand at all - the death toll is probably the lowest it has ever been in a Mafia War. The primary reason for this is because Skull isn't trying to eliminate cogs - he's going after the entire system._

_That doesn't make it any less dirty. The effects of the war would be felt until all of its participants died, maybe even after that. Skulls plays __**dirty, **__right from the point when killed the ex-boss' right hand by staging a coup to when he starts using the heiress of the Family as a figurehead. He feels a little sorry - she's a nice girl, really, doesn't even shout when Skull tells her that she'll be a puppet ultimately, but that might be because she's met Tsuna once and had immediately fallen in love with him._

_He turns to tactics, pull a classic Opium as he uses the drug supply to turn the lackeys of the other Families into mindless addicts ("Better broken than dead,") before abruptly changing directions because Tsuna looks like he's going to cry ("They're just pawns, Skull-nii, it isn't their fault, whywhywhy do people __**always have to suffer?!"**__)and creating a concoction so strong that it turns people into mindless zombies craving more with just one lick("My mother isn't exactly happy that I'm asking her for Opium seeds, but I normally get away with anything when it's for Science," Shoichi shrugged). He brings it to the bosses as a sample (they sneer at him, calling him the __**Arcobaleno Dog, **__aware of the fact that everyone thinks he's the weakest __and he feels no remorse when he uses the Mist flames he's woven into the drug to __**rip **__open the minds of their right hands ("Can't have you mutts poisoning the boss, right?"))_

_Within a few years, the a lot of the scene has changed and he deems the heiress ready to take over, going back to leading the largest Militia in the world (he bumps into the Vongola heir at Mafia Land and watches with disgust as Reborn kicks him down over and over again. Years with Tsuna and the rest have led to him forgetting the kind of __**abuse **__the Vongola deals on their own on an everyday basis and he's grateful to this world that Tsuna wasn't made the heir.)_

_By the time the Militia is in the condition it was before ("We don't just look for quantity, we look for quality,") the filth of the underworld has started to accumulate again. Offshoots of the Adinventi haunt the streets, Estraneo, Almeila, so many others and Tsuna worries at his thin frame when he goes back to check on him. He sighs and smiles, agrees to let them take small jobs from him, gets in touch with Kawahira who tells them how to train, how to steal (because he'll be damned if he lets any of them go on his jobs, Skulls hold no illusions about who is he is, he isn't an avenger or an assassin, he's a serial mass murderer who's killing off Family after Family, cog after cog to try and stop that huge machine and his hands are stained with blood enough to fill the fucking __**Amazon, **__but Tsuna and the others are cleaner than him and they'll __**stay that way**__.)_

_He keeps in contact with the Parallel world Vongola who're concerned out of their mind for Tsuna ("Is the cure working? Is he better now? What do you mean he weighs 37kg, he's fourteen! __**Wait, **__what do __**you **__mean you weigh 45kg you're just above twenty years physically! Skull-san, that's not healthy, you need to __**eat, **__I'm getting Byakuran to bring you all food.")_

_He laughs and smiles and kills and lives and eats and -_

_-finally, __**finally, **__begins to heal._

_(Skull hopes that his alternate self is better too, because Tsuna is excellent no matter what dimension but he's not magic, can't heal all wounds no matter how much he want or tries too. At the very least, he hopes that Reborn hasn't killed him for lying consistently to the Strongest Seven yet)_

* * *

^Tsuna _ruled _at awkward silence. Primarily because silence was rare and awkward or not, he was going to relish in it, fuck you very much.

*Reborn and Tsuna suspected that being omniscient came hand-in-hand with being the mental age 5 constantly. However, Tsuna, the sucker that he was for little children, was never able to deny Byakuran when this happened, much to the frustration of the others.

/Tucked away in the afterlife, Daemon Spade shivered as a sudden lintany of "IDON"TWANNADIE" came up in his mind before reminding himself that he was already dead, what could do him harm now? (The answer - so much, _so __**so much.**__)_

%Story of his fucking life - he lost half his sleep because he was too busy laughing or crying at the events of the day in his bedroom. It eventually got so bad that Reborn started to fill the room with sleeping gas before Tsuna decided to have all the rooms in the mansion soundproofed.

* * *

**So, how weird was that?**

**Breakdown of chapter because timeline is weird. The entire thing takes place in the past, hence the absence of Giotto and the others. I've read a lot about revolution in the holidays and I wanted to put it to use, so we have Skull's War Against Drugs, which takes place after the part that's not italicized. Some of you might have realized that the Parallels are the ones who help Tsuna get rid of the Arcobaleno curse in this world and that Skull starts the Drug War after that. I just...wanted to elaborate on the characters a little bit. Also, a lot of people asked me to write more Skull.**

**Older Byakuran from canon world (TYL or not, up to you guys,) goes to a parallel world which isn't giving memories to him via Mare Ring. He sees Tsuna with the Mare ring and Sky pacifier, freaks out, ends up dragging everyone who was near him (Tsuna, his guardians and Skull) to the canon world when he tries to escape. Skull uses his Mist flames to make a tornado to protect Tsuna while canon Tsuna gets his Skull to dispel the illusion. The background (in italics) is just a BAMF Skull interlude that takes place after they come back from the canon world. Hopes this clears everything up! :)**

**Next chapter would be confrontation 1, along with the Varia (!) coming to town (or at least, making plans to do so.) Also, plot in the next chapter, finally.**

**This is late partly because I've spent the last few days listening to Vicetone's new song - Nothing Stopping Me, almost aggressively. That song is freaking addicting and I recommend it to the entire world.**

**Also, damn so many followers, I'm kinda shocked. The fic's writing style is weird because I'm just stretching my legs into a lot of different territories here. Sorry if that bugs you guys :(**

**As always, read, review and stay awesome, **

**Until next time,**

**Arwana13**


	6. mafia dumbledore

_The atmosphere around the table was...awkward. Both the Tsunas cheerfully strived to obnoxiously not notice it. Their mothers obliviousness was their secret weapon in the face of all madness._

_"Are you feeling alright, now?" Tsuna asked his counterpart, a gentle smile on his face._

_"Much better," Tsunayoshi smiled. "Thank you for the tea, Fon-san."_

_The ex-Arcobaleno nodded his head in acknowledgement before returning to the impromptu ex-Arcobaleno team-building activity of staring parallel Skull down. Skull promptly lifted his index finger and used it to calmly write the words 'FUCK OFF' in thin air, not even looking up from where he was reading the report on how the Arcobaleno cure was found. _

_"Can you tell us what happened now?" Nono asked the younger Guardians, his eyes as shrewd as ever. "If we know how you came in possession of the Mare ring, we'd be able to send you back."_

_The younger Sky visibly stiffened. "Forgive me, Vongola Nono, but I fear that neither I nor any of my Guardians would feel comfortable answering any questions put up by your generation," he said, his tone cold._

_"And what about if I ask them?" Iemitsu said, leaning forward so that his elbows rested on the table._

_Gokudera __**snarled. **__"Even worse," his explained curtly, eyes hardening like poison. "I assure you, Sawada-san, that unlike the case with Vongola Nono, should you ask us any questions, we won't even bother to put up any facade of politeness."_

_A ripple went through the alternate Guardians as all of their eyes snapped to Iemitsu, barring those of Hibari, who was still looking at Nono as if he were the scum of the Earth, Yamamato, who was focused on the figure sitting next to Iemtisu and Tsuna, who was looking blankly at his Storm._

_"That stands for both the Sawada-sans," Yamamato added, giving Nana Sawada a smile that made her flinch from where she was sitting next to her husband._

_"Yamamato, stop," Tsunayoshi spoke softly, his eyes still on Gokudera. "I could have sworn that there were no pictures of my father in the house, Gokudera-kun."(Both the skies had come to an agreement to call the younger counterparts by their last names, with the exception of Tsunayoshi, who insisted that he be called by his full name in place of "Sawada.")_

_"I hacked the hospital birth records."_

_"I dread to ask this: why?"_

_"Had to change your emergency contact information to Skull-san."_

_Tsunayoshi turns to look at the (definitely not blushing) Arcobaleno, who buried his face in the papers before him, and said in a very steady voice, "You should tell them everything, Tsunayoshi. If this cure works out in our world...the it's possible that they can help you."_

_The mood soured even more. "It's your decision, Tsunayoshi," Rokudo murmured softly, still staring at Iemitsu with a frankly terrifying intensity._

_Tsunayoshi was silent for a long minute before he sighed. "...Gokudera-kun, I think you'll need to help me with this one."_

_"If you're sure, Tsunayoshi-sama."_

* * *

"...what? Are you sure?"

"My student is. I haven't seen the boy."

"Reborn, if this information turns out to be false, I'll bankrupt you."

"Mammon, I called you out of common courtesy. If anything, you owe_ me_ too much to threaten me."

"...fuck you, Reborn. Do you have to keep reminding me about that?"

"Yes. Any sign of Skull?"

"No. That idiot's dropped completely off scene."

"Fuck. When you come here, we'll need to plan to find him."

"Mhmm."

"Mammon."

"Yes?"

"...just remember that this is a Sanctuary, alright? You can't do any serious damage to the boy if he's been allowed to live here."

"Have you seen the Sanctuary's handler yet?"

"No. It's very strange, you'd think that the handler would be the first person to greet us. Even if the handler isn't here, Mammon, the Vindice would have our heads if something happened to a resident of Sanctuary."

"...I can't speak for my boss, Reborn, but I'll try my best to control Belephegor."

"...I guess that's all I can ask from you at this point, huh?"

_Click._

Mammon looked at the phone in their hand and clicked their tongue impatiently. "Bastard always needs to have the last word."

"What was that, trash?" Xanxus spoke, not bothering to look up from where he was swirling a glass of wine between two fingers.*

Mammon watched their boss for a minute, deciding the best way to say this to avoid replacing too many flight attendants on their way to Japan.

Fuck it. Mammon was many things, but they were not subtle, despite being Mist.

"Boss, it's time to go frog hunting."

The glass shattered. That had less to do with Xanxus' loss of control than it had to do with the knife which _someone _had thrown on it.

Mammon took one look at the pissed expression on his boss' face, then looked at the crazed grin peeking out from behind the previously closed door and then let out a rare groan.

_(__**Asking Belphagor to not eavesdrop on important conversation was like an invitation to his princely mind - #fact universally acknowledged)**_

* * *

"This is so frustrating," Tsuna groaned, throwing his hands up in the air.

Hayato winced, bringing up his hands to massage his boss' shoulders. "Tsuna-sama," he said, "why don't you let me and the baseball freak deal with this one? Rest for a while."

Tsuna let out a spectacular choking noise. "I'm _not _letting you and Takeshi take part in any stealing operations. Besides, he's busy with a thing anyway."

"What's he busy with?"...followed by..."Tsuna-sama, are you talking about the Ikebukuro Incident? That was not our fault!"

"Hayato, I sent you to pickpocket the _blueprints _of the building, not to _raze it to the ground!"_

"...ah..."

"What happened anyway? I never got the full story." Tsuna turned his head up, tilted slightly, to look into Hayato's eyes. The Storm gulped as he looked at his boss' (cute) weaponized features and he stuttered awkwardly.

"Uh...uhmm...Mukuro was there-"

"Of fucking course! Why the hell didn't I see it before."

"...Tsuna-sama, you shouldn't swear."

"Silence, hypocrite."

Hayato watched his stressed boss with sympathetic eyes. "Maybe we should get Mukuro in here to help."

"Kufufufu...help with what, darling Storm?"

Hayato jumped while Tsuna banged his head down on his table. "I swear to fucking god, saying your name is like issuing a summons," Hayato ranted, trying to slow his heart down. "Tsuna-sama, are you alright?" he panicked, fussing over his prone Sky.

Mukuro watched the scene in front of him with amused eyes before deadpanning, "Yes, you guessed my ultimate secret. I'm a demon. You can summon me by name."

Tsuna stopped trying to turn his head to marshmallow fluff/ and looked up at his Mist with an eyebrow raised. "Mukuro, we've literally met demons. You know that they can't be summoned by name."

In the side, Hayato snorted, quietly muttering, "Maybe not demons, Tsuna-sama, but we don't know anything about how to summon Lucifer."

Tsuna turned to his storm with a confused expression. "We literally know the King of Hell, Hayato. Lucifer is just a title anyway."

Hayato's eyes widened as he swayed on the spot. "Fran is...Satan?"

"Which makes me Satan's maker, I suppose," Mukuro spoke with a gleeful grin.

Tsuna abruptly slammed his head on the table again. "Fuck," he whined after a second. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, bad images, _bad images, fuck, Hayato alcohol, I need alcohol!"_

"You can't have that, Tsuna-sama, Kyoya threw all the alcohol out after the February Fiasco," the Storm replied, green at the thought of a world where a Mist was God (especially one like Mukuro,) but still standing steady for his Sky.

Mukuro, now outright snickering, managed to somehow control himself long enough to ask Tsuna what they were talking about earlier.

"How we're going to get the rings. Ryohei thinks we should steal them."

Mukuro raised his eyebrow. "And here I thought he was going to suggest just straight up choking them with the _stupid fucking chains _on which they hang the rings and running away into the sun."

"He suggested that too, but I told him that running into the sun wasn't really a good survival tactic," Hayato cut in, snorting.

"Ah, you mean you screamed it until his ears bled."

"Oh, shut up, like you could have done any better in getting through to that thickhead's brain."

Mukuro huffed a laugh before turning to his Sky, who looked like he'd given up all hope for anything good in the world. "You know, Tsunayoshi," he began, "you never told Hayato what Takeshi was busy with."

Tsuna froze, his eyes widening before he clutched his hair in despair. _"Motherfuck," _he whimpered, looking as if he were about to cry.

Hayato panicked, "Tsuna-sama, what's that idiot planning on doing?"

When Tsuna looks up (after some gentle soothing by his elements ("It can't be as bad as Bangkok," "Shut up, bastard, that isn't making anyone feel any better,")) his gaze was lifeless.

"He's going to have an honour duel with his brother for my sake, because his family thinks I'm leading a cult and find his "devotion" to me disturbing."

And that was when Tsuna realized: he'd fucked up.

"Mukuro, don't you fucking _dare-"_

"Sorry, Tsunayoshi, but _this _I _have _to see."

* * *

**EARLIER ON-**

Asari was a little disturbed to say the least.

"Dad, Takeshi _is _a Rain, right?"

The elder Yamamato looked up from where he was cutting the salmon he planned on using to make dinner for the Tenth Generation. "Yes, of course," he said, his brow furrowed with confusion. "Why do you ask?"

Giotto and Alaude watched as Asari picked his words carefully. "He got into a fight at school today."

"What?" Tsuyoshi said, frowning as he set his knife aside. "The school hasn't contacted me about anything like that."

Alaude coughed gently. "It's possible that that's because the person who came to break up the scene was Kyoya. From what I've gathered so far, he's the head of the Disciplinary Committee, so he's incharge of handing out the punishments to the students."

Tsuyoshi rolled his eyes, "Those kids at Namimori High are insane. It's like adults don't do anything there."

"Father?" Asari ventured, "What do you think of Tsunayoshi?"

Tsuyoshi froze. "Was Tsuna involved in this mess?" he demanded.

"No," Giotto said hurriedly. "Not directly anyway. But we think that Takeshi got into the fight because the people he was fighting with insulted Tsuna."

Tsuyoshi sighed. "That makes more sense," he said, picking up the knife again.

"Has this...has anything like this ever happened before?"

"I honestly couldn't tell you, Asari, because a majority of what happens at Namimori High stays in Namimori High. But judging from the way _all _your relatives," he nodded at Knuckle, Alaude and Asari, "guard the boy when they aren't at school, I assume it must have."

"It just seems like..." Asari hesitated. "It seems like he has a very high influence on the boys, if he can get someone as easy-going as Takeshi to voluntarily beat someone up. Are you okay with that?"

"He doesn't have to be," a new voice cut in, "because _I _am the one who chose to follow Tsuna and no one gets to judge that decision."

Asari spun around to find his little brother leaning against the doorframe, eyes closed and mouth drawn up in a tight smile. "Takeshi..."

"Asari-nii," the younger Rain replied, voice easy.

"Takeshi-san," Giotto attempted to cut in, "I think we should talk."

"No. I don't like talking about these kind of things," Takeshi said, voice hardening.

Tsuyoshi sighed, "Takeshi, we're just concerned, alright? I'm sure Tsuna is an amazing person, but considering you've never _once _let me talk to him on my own, considering how I have to find from your brother that you've been getting into fights defending him, I think that you should understand why I'm worried."

The younger Rain was quiet for a long minute before his mouth cracked into a devious grin. "Let me _show _you then," he purred. "Let me _show _you that I can handle myself perfectly well."

He turned to his elder brother, the grin widening, "Let me show you how well I can protect my Sky."

Giotto let out a sharp breath as Tsuyoshi's knife slipped, making a small cut on his wrist. Alaude's eyes narrowed. Asari turned bloodless.

"I, Yamamato Takeshi, hereby challenge you, Vongola Asari, to a duel of the sword. I do so in honour of our Skies and our flames, invoking the right of Blood," Takeshi recited smoothly, uncaring of how the people in the room were freaking out.

"Takeshi- _what?" _Asari choked out.

Giving him a shit-eating grin, the younger Rain started to leave the house again, pausing only to say "Meet me at Namimori High's auditorium, an hour after the school had ended. Bring whoever you want, I'll be having my own witnesses."

* * *

By the time evening arrived, it was safe to say that the Tenth Generation was freaking out _just the slightest bit._

"Alright, listen up," Reborn spoke, "a duel of Rains invoked by Blood Right can end in many ways. But once which is raised because of their Skies only ever ends in one way. The winner will ask the defeated Rain for three things- three things which will not end in bodily harm to anyone involved and will help the winner's Sky in one way or another. These are not duels to satisfy their own ego, they are duels to make their Sky more comfortable."

"So what," Asari said, "I need to think up of three things which would make Giotto happier?"

Giotto raised an eyebrow, "I hardly think Takeshi can give my father some semblance of a brain."

Daemon made a frustrated sound. "Stop being so cocky," he curtly told Asari, "So far this town has been nothing but surprises upon surprises. The fact that your brother know about elements is in itself a shock. There's still a chance you won't win. That's a nice aim to have though, Giotto."

"He's a _Vongola Guardian," _Lampo cut in, laughing, "and his brother is a _high-schooler._ I think we know who will win."

"My brother was a ferocious child when he was younger," Alaude said, his eyes closed, "I doubt that any companion he has will be anything less than a predator in the making. I think," he paused for a moment, making an audible gulping sound, "I think the melon...might be right."

A shocking silence fell over the gathering.

"We're fucked either way, aren't we?" G said feebly.

"Amen," Knuckle agreed.

"Look on the bright side," Reborn interjected, "if a Right of Blood has been invoked, then we can be sure that the guardian of the Sanctuary will be there. Then I'll be able to approach them and ask for permission for the Varia to arrive!"

"Reborn," Giotto said slowly, "the Varia is coming here?" A pause. "How the _fuck _is that the bright side of any situation?!"

"Oh," Reborn said, frowning, "damn, you're right."

Giotto screeched and fell to the ground, sobbing dramatically. None of his elements moved to comfort him.

"You poor bastard," Lampo remarked, prodding the sobbing mess with his toe.

"Ah, you lot look lively," a cheerful voice remarked. The Tenth Generation turned to find Takeshi standing by the door of the auditorium, "I hope I'm not late."

"Not at all," Reborn said coolly, an eyebrow raising at the sight of the weapon-less Rain. "Takeshi," he said suddenly, "you must know that your brother is much more experienced than you in these matters. Please, if you wish to withdraw the duel, do not hesitate to do so."

Asari shot Reborn a grateful look.

Takeshi smiled coldly. "I do not remember giving you permission to speak my name in such a familiar manner, Reborn-san, but I'll let that go for now," he said, uncaring of the murder that flashed in the hitman's eyes. "But I hope that my brother," he looked Asari in the eye, "does not go into the duel harbouring any delusions of me giving up for anything less than the risk of lethal disfiguration."

Lampo squeaked, hiding behind G, at the sudden raise in killing intent.

"Very well," Reborn spoke through gritted teeth. "Where is your weapon, Yamamato Takeshi?" he demanded. "Let's get this over with."

Takeshi grinned. "My witness will be bringing my sword."

"Witness?" Giotto questioned.

"Witness, administrator, whatever you want to call it," Kyoya spoke from where he was entering the room. "Someone has to watch over the match and I _refuse _to let the _Cervello _into _my _territory."

"Kyoya," Alaude breathed, getting a sharp nod in return.

"He is the administrator of the Sanctuary?" Knuckle spoke in a rare whisper.

"It makes sense," Giotto replied, "considering that he was the one who picked us up from the airport."

"Here, Takeshi," the Cloud spoke, holding out a clothed sword, "if you destroy the auditorium, you'll be the one building it back."

"Before we start," Giotto interrupted, "can I ask how you two know of the existence of the Vongola and the elements?"

Kyoya smirked. "Perhaps, _Decimo,_" he purred, "that knowledge should be one of the things which your Rain asks from us, should he win."

"Which I doubt," Takeshi continued, his mouth stretched in a toothy grin.

Kyoya snorted. "Get in the ring, Takeshi," he commanded, "and finish this quickly."

"Yes sir."

"Asari," Giotto breathed, "try to not do much harm to the boy. Or yourself. Anytime you feel uncomfortable, you can back out, alright?"

"Yes, boss," he replied shakily.

"Stop being so shaky bastard," G snorted. "You're the most promising swordsman of the decade. You've got this."

"I hope," Daemon murmured, unbothered by the glares shot at him^.

Both the Rains walked into the rectangle drawn by chalk lines in the middle of the auditorium. Takeshi unwrapped his blade.

"A wooden toy?" Asari asked, perturbed. "Little brother, this isn't a game-"

His protests got cut mid-way as Takeshi gently ran his fingers along the katana. "Shigure Kintoki," he spoke gently, smiling as the wood transformed into metal beneath his fingertips.

He swung the blade a few times, balancing it between both his hands, not caring about the shocked stares of everyone in the room.

"Takeshi," Tsuyoshi choked, entering room just in time to see this.

"And all the Rains of Vongola Blood have arrived," Kyoya muttered, voice echoing in the auditorium. "Let the duel begin!"

* * *

"Fuck," Tsuna moaned, holding his hair. "Mukuro, you fucking idiot-"

"To be fair, Tsuna-sama, it's not like anyone can harm the pineapple now, what with the Council's warning hanging over their heads."

"Ugh, I know," Tsuna kneaded his head with both hands. "Do you really think that'll stop me from worrying?!"

"No," Hayato admitted, "but it should help you worry less."

Tsuna closed his eyes, taking in deep breaths. "Alright," he concluded. "Let Mukuro do his own thing. If Takeshi challenged anyone, then Kyoya should be there too, he'll stop things from getting too bad. Now," he bit his bottom lip, "how are we going to introduce you and Lambo to our families?"

Hayato groaned falling ungracefully into his chair. "Do we _have _to?" he whined.

Tsuna gave him a _look. _"I'm letting _Mukuro _handle his own introduction to my brother," he said curtly, "do you really think there's a chance I'm not going to introduce you, _dear Right-Hand Man?"_

The Storm grimaced, looking away from his Sky, out the window. "Well, if we have to," he said. "I'll think of something, Tsuna-sama. You'll need to handle the cow."

"Try not to blow up an area more than three kilometres wide, alright?"

"No promises."

* * *

"Asari's panting. Fuck."

"The kid is pretty good, I'll admit it."

"Oh, shut up, pinky, Asari hasn't even started using his Flames yet. All Takeshi-san is doing is dodging."

"He's got pretty good stamina, though. His reflexes are good."

"Reflexes only take you so far. Does he even know about Flames?"

_"Shigure Soen Ryuu."_

"...well, that answers that."

"Motherfucker."

* * *

"How?" Asari panted, squinting through the blood gushing down his face. He had been forced to drop down on one knee. "How did you know about that style?"

"The answer to that is irrelevant," Takeshi spoke, his voice cold. "What matters is the fact that you have lost, _Rain, _and that means that you will now never speak, gesture, or _breathe _near my Sky, if that is what he wishes."

"And as you all must know, our Sky's wishes are our own. Our own wishes are our Sky's."

Giotto gulped. "Very well, Yamamato-san," he spoke, stepping forward, "tell us what you wish for."

Takeshi smiled a shark's smile. "First clause- until further defined, Asari Vongola is not speak a word in the presence of my Sky, until it is absolutely essential his health and security."

Reborn's eyes narrowed. That was...a smart move. It eliminated the Rain, who with their charm and easy-nature, were usually essential for information gathering, from collecting information from anyone who was around Tsuna that often, along with removing the Sky himself from the list.

"Clause 2- Asari Vongola is to keep all of his opinions and views regarding my Sky to himself, unless it is absolutely necessary for his health."

Giotto gritted his teeth.

"Clause 3, the final clause. Asari Vongola is to hand over the Vongola Rain ring which he possesses to me, as he has proven himself unworthy to keep it safe from other Rains."

Reborn let in a sharp breath. Asari turned a ghostly white.

"Takeshi-san, that's just a bit extreme, don't you think-" Knuckle began.

"Extreme or not, those are my final terms. Under the Oath of Blood, I now bid you to accept them, oh Vongola Decimo's Rain." Takeshi's eyes opened and narrowed, his fingers dropping to the hilt of his sword again.

"Herbivore," Kyoya spoke up, "hurry up and hand the ring over. Should Takeshi break out in a rampage upon this delay of agreement, I will not be the stopping him. I think I will aid him, in fact."

Giotto bowed his head. "Hand over the ring, Asari."

"But Giotto-"

"No buts. They have won the ring under Blood Oath, to deny him it would be a grievous crime indeed."

"Not to mention," Takeshi cut in, "that your generation has not inherited any of the Rings. They were handed over to you by the Ninth generation when they deemed you ready to become heirs of the Vongola Family. As such, one might say that the rings were never really yours anyway."

"How do you that?" Reborn demanded, voice low.

"He is under no obligation to tell you." Kyoya cut in smoothly. "Now, Rain-herbivore, hurry up. I have better places to be and I'm sure you do as well."

Asari looked at Giotto in despair, his hand going to touch necklaces on his neck. "Giotto," he spoke in a choked voice, "are you sure?"

"Yes, I am."

"Very well," the Rain said, his eyes closed in acceptance. He slowly lifted the necklace from his neck, caressing the stone embedded in the ring. After looking at it reverently, he tossed it over to the younger Rain, who smoothly caught it and quickly took the ring off of the chain, slipping it on his finger.

"Don't worry, aniki," Takeshi said, smiling genuinely this time. "I'll take good care of it."

Asari Vongola looked at the his brother's hand, now drooping just the slightest bit under the weight of the ring and shivered. Somehow, those words sounded familiar to him. Somehow, they sounded like a prophecy.

* * *

Despite the Sun-flames which Reborn and Knuckles were liberally applying on Asari, his body still ached. What hurt the most, however, was still his head. "I don't understand _anything,_" he whined.

G snorted. "For once, I agree with you." He turned to Giotto, "What the hell is your little brother into?"

The blonde looked surprised. "_My _brother? You guys are the one with the crazy violent people in the family!" he nodded his head at Asari and Alaude.

"Maybe so," Reborn spoke, bandaging Asari's arm, "but it's still easy to tell that your brother is presumably the lynch-pin in this entire scenario. He's the only one who I see having the Sky potential to be the leader of these elements."

"Whoever the Sky may be is a relevant question," the eldest Yamamato in the room murmured, "but the question, 'who the fuck taught Takeshi a secret family technique,' is just as important. I was going to teach it to you in the time that you are here," he added, looking at Asari.

"We'll find out all these answers," Giotto spoke, his voice firm, "but for now we all need to _rest. _We've experienced enough shocks for the day."

_CRASH!_

_"VOIIII!"_

_"SHUT UP, TRASH."_

"Or not," Alaude murmured, his face set in an expression of distaste. Giotto had turned extremely pale, his breathing becoming frantic.

"Oh, come on!" Takeshi whined, "We _just _finished fixing the place!"

Kyoya snorted. "Stop worrying so much. I'm sure that Tsuna will agree that _this _particular damage ought to be fixed by _external sources._"

"He'd better," the younger grumbled. "If I have to hold wooden planks _one more time, _I'm going to smack someone on the head with them."

The Vongola group watched the roof of the arena cave in, coughing as the dust rose around them. "Reborn," Giotto began, "can we make Mammon pay for the damages for once?"

"Not a chance, kid." The Tenth Generation shrieked as the figure of the illusionist suddenly appeared before them. "Talk it out with Xanxus or someone."

"Yeah, right," G muttered, quietly making a memo to contact someone in Vongola's accounting to take care of this.

**(Asking Xanxus to own up and take responsibility for his actions was like asking Mammon to pay - #fact universally acknowledged)**

"Where is he?" Xanxus growled, sounding way too much like his liger to comfort anyone.

"I don't know who it is you search for, Sky, but I hope you know that before you can search for him, you must get through me," Kyoya spoke, stepping past the rubble to stand in front of the Varia Sky. Xanxus growled, raising his guns, the elements behind him shifting into an attacking stance.

"Xanxus, stop!" Giotto's voice rang out, momentarily calming the bloodlust building up in the arena. "He's the guardian on the Sanctuary, you _literally _need to get past him if you want to be here."

Squalo swquaked in indignation. "This runt, the guardian?"

Bloodlust swept through the arena, causing Lampo to choke. Mammon raised an impressed eyebrow at the aura which surrounded the young Cloud, purple and _pulsing._

"Yes, _Superbi Squalo, _this _runt _is the guardian of the Sanctuary. Right now, I'm telling you, I don't feel particularly hospitable to letting you people in." Kyoya snarled.

Mammon vanished in a whirl of Mist flames, appearing floating next to the Varia leader. "Xanxus," they spoke, tone low and urgent, "Put your weapons _down. _We do _not _want to be thrown out of the Sanctuary before we find Fran."

Gritting his teeth, Xanxus reluctantly put his guns down, still not putting them in their holsters. The rest of the Varia followed their bosses lead, postures still tense.

"I apologize on their behalf, Hibari-san," Giotto spoke up, well aware that his fellow Sky had no intention of apologizing for any of his actions, "and sincerely hope that this will not cause you to refuse them entry. The come for a sound cause."

"I will be the judge of that," Kyoya spoke curtly, reigning in his aura. "Speak, herbivores, and do so quickly. I can feel myself grow more impatient every second."

"We come in search of a Mist who we've been told hides in your Sanctuary. His name is Fran. Some years ago, he left the Varia without any notice and we, presume has been hiding here ever since," Squalo explained, voice tight.

Takeshi visibly shook, "Kyoya..."

The young Cloud shook his head, turning and giving his fellow element a single glance that told him to shut up. Turning back to his audience, he spoke again. "Your request is denied. You have 12 hours to leave the Sanctuary, after which you will be forcibly ejected from it."

Levi snarled. "Listen here you little brat! You've been harbouring a traitor! That little shit of a Mist rightfully _belongs _to us!"

Kyoya raised an eyebrow while Takeshi laughed beside him. "There are so many things wrong with that statement, I don't even know where to start. Kyoya, shall we...?"

"Go ahead, Takeshi," the Cloud spoke, amusement coloring his voice.

"Gladly." Takeshi smiled, his teeth glinting. "Firstly, Fran is _not _hiding here. He lives here, as a rightful member of this Sanctuary.

"Second," Kyoya spoke up, sending a warning glare at the snarling Lightning, "from what we've been told, you people fucking _kidnapped _him and forced him to serve in your little herd psychotic herbivores, so he never owed any allegiance to you in the first place."

Watching the now fuming Varia squad with gleaming eyes, Takeshi went in for the kill. "Third, on the matter of belonging."

"Fran is his own person."

"But if he did belong to someone-"

"-it wouldn't be you."

Reborn flared his killing intent to stop the Varia from advancing on the two young elements. "Who would he belong to, then?" he spoke, obviously humouring the two elements.

"That, little Arcobaleno, is for us to know, and for you to never find out." Mist converged next to where Kyoya stood, before dispersing, revealing the form of the Mist who had spoken.

Kyoya made an irritated noise. "Mist which hides, my ass. Never did know how to make a subtle entrance, did you?"

Rokudo Mukuro chuckled, seemingly oblivious to the now-pale form of his brother, being supported by his Sun. "Kufufu, apologies, Kyoya. Your impatience seems to have rubbed off on me."

* * *

_"...I suppose we should start with Mafia Dumbledore over there, huh." Gokudera spoke, nodding his head toward Vongola Nono._

_"Mafia Dumbledore?" Tsuna enquired, lifting an eyebrow. _

_"Oh, you know," Yamamato spoke, his voice dark, "old, senile, somehow powerful, never learned to __**mind his fucking business**__?"_

_From where he was going over the papers, Skull snorted. "You kids are too fucking much."_

* * *

/he was going to stop soon anyway. Wouldn't want any..._unnecessary _attractions (read: crazed, white haired marshmallow freaks. Byakuran arrived at even the subconscious mention of those diabetes-causing pieces of fluff).

Perhaps "uncaring" was a slight lie. He did care enough to induce murderous rage, after all. He'd been hanging around too many Mists.

^ Or not. Fucking _ Mists._

* * *

**Who's a piece of shit? That's right, this chick right here! Words cannot begin to express how sorry I am for the sudden, year-long hiatus, guys. I don't have any excuse which will stand in court apart from my own laziness and the **_**motherfucking IB. **_**Anyway, next chapter should explain a lot. Promise I won't spend a century writing it. Thanks a lot for sticking with me, despite my stupidity.**

**Umm...I really don't want to do anything about the footnotes, guys. Inserting them in the middle of the story is too fucking awkward. Normally, I just use a control+F to find the symbols, but if they're bothering you too much, then ignore them. They aren't that important anyway.**

**Read and review!**

**Until next time,**

**Love,**

**Arwana13**


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